Canadian dollar tumbles almost half a cent amid disappointing housing data

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Canadian dollar coins, or Loonies, are displayed on a map of North America Thursday, January 9, 2014 in Montreal. The Canadian dollar traded at fresh multi-year lows Thursday amid readings showing a slowdown in the housing sector. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

TORONTO - The Canadian dollar closed sharply lower Thursday as traders took in readings showing a slowdown in the housing sector and looked to the release Friday of December job numbers.

The loonie closed off the worst levels of the session to drop 0.41 of a cent to 92.15 cents US as the currency rides at its lowest level since the end of September 2009. It cracked the 92-cent level during the day, going as low as 91.95 cents US.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said housing starts for December came in at an annual rate of 189,672 units in December, within expectations of economists but a decrease from 197,797 in November.

"Look for further cooling in starts this year to levels consistent with demographic demand," warned BMO Capital Markets senior economist Robert Kavcic.

Other data from Statistics Canada showed that contractors took out $6.8 billion worth of building permits in November, down 6.7 per cent from October. The agency noted that the decline in December followed an eight per cent gain in November.

The dollar was already down sharply before the housing data came out. The currency has fallen more than 1.75 cents US since last Friday, buffeted by data that showed Canada's trade deficit grew last fall.

Another report showed the U.S. trade deficit dropped 12.9 per cent in November to its lowest level in four years. Imports, including Canadian crude oil, dropped 1.4 per cent.

And the Bank of Canada has turned dovish on interest rates with a hike not expected until next year.

Also, the U.S. dollar has strengthened on speculation about how fast the U.S. Federal Reserve might reduce its massive bond buying program.

The Fed decided last month to start tapering its US$85 billion of monthly bond purchases by $10 billion with further cuts contingent on economic performance, particularly improvements in job creation.

The minutes from that Fed meeting were released on Wednesday but failed to provide clues about what the Fed might do.

However, there is also a growing feeling that Friday's U.S. government employment report for December will exceed expectations that about 195,000 jobs were created. Payroll firm ADP said Wednesday that the U.S. private sector alone created 238,000 jobs in December.

Also on Thursday morning, the U.S. Labor Department reported that applications for jobless insurance fell by 15,000 last week to 330,000.

Canadian jobs data also comes out Friday with expectations that about 13,000 jobs were created in December.

In other economic developments, the European Central Bank left its key interest rate unchanged at a record low 0.25 per cent on Thursday amid worries about a weak recovery and low inflation.

Lower prices for oil and metals also pressured the Canadian currency.

The February crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange lost 67 cents to close at US$91.66 a barrel.

March copper lost four cents to US$3.30 a pound while February gold bullion climbed $3.90 to US$1,229.40 an ounce.