The Canadian dollar edged slightly lower against the greenback on Thursday morning
following a sharp sell-off triggered by growing doubts over the outlook for the global economy.
Global stock markets, which tend to influence the direction of the Canadian currency, were mixed as Asian stock markets fell to a near-three week low while European shares and New York futures were relatively flat.
"(The Canadian dollar) will take its cue from the broader market sentiment, which is biased in favor of risk aversion at the moment," said Jack Spitz, managing director of foreign
exchange at National Bank Financial.
"The market has been buying the dollar and the Swiss franc this morning so Canada's lack of major reaction has actually seen it pick up on most crosses."
Wednesday's flight from riskier assets was prompted by fears about the U.S. economy in particular showing signs of stumbling, which earlier in the week prompted the U.S. Federal Reserve to announce steps to hold down borrowing costs. A spate of data from China has also confirmed its rapid imports and factory output growth to be slowing.
At 8:01 a.m. ET, the currency was at $1.0469 to the U.S. dollar, or 95.52 U.S. cents, down from
Wednesday's finish at $1.0453 to the U.S. dollar, or 95.67 U.S. cents.
