(RTTNews.com) - The Canadian dollar traded further lower against major opponents during New York mid-day deals on Thursday. The loonie fell to new multi-week lows versus the euro and the US dollar. In early morning, the Statistics Canada showed in a report that the nation's retail sales rose less than expected for January. The report said that retail sales rose 0.5 percent to C$38.9 billion in January, a fifth increase in six months. Economists expected total retail sales to rise 1.8 percent, following a modest 0.2 percent decline in December. Extending its early morning session's downtrend, the loonie declined further against the euro and the Japanese yen in today's mid-day deals. As of now, the loonie is worth a 2-week low of 1.3205 against the euro and a 13-day low of 82.45 versus the yen, compared to yesterday's close of 1.3117 and 84.09, respectively. Against its US counterpart, the Canadian unit edged down further in North American mid-day session fell to a multi-week low of 1.0010 by about 11:10 am ET. The pair closed Wednesday's New York session at 0.9924 is now trading near 0.9995. On the economic front, the U.S. Conference Board released a report showed that its leading economic index rose by 0.7 percent in February following a revised 0.2 percent increase in January. Economists had expected the index to rise by 0.6 percent compared to the 0.4 percent increase originally reported for the previous month. The Canadian currency also traded lower against the Australian dollar during New York mid-day deals today. At present, the pair is trading at 1.0385 from early high of 1.0318.

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