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Loonie at lowest point in more than a decade

Loonie at lowest point in more than a decade as oil and gold under pressure
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Canadian dollar coins are displayed on a map of North America, January 9, 2014 in Montreal. The Canadian dollar dropped to levels not seen in more than a decade as the price of oil and gold both came under pressure.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

By The Canadian Press

TORONTO - The Canadian dollar dropped to levels not seen in more than a decade as the price of oil and gold both came under pressure.

The loonie was down 0.47 of a cent at 76.76 cents US. That's the lowest level since September 2004.

The dollar has been on a downward slide since last summer, when the price of oil started to weaken.

Oil prices dropped below the US$50 mark in trading Wednesday, while gold traded for less than US$1,100 an ounce.

Compounding the loonie weakness was a decision by the Bank of Canada to cut its key interest rate last week.

The central bank's overnight rate target stands at 0.5 per cent.