Canadian dollar slides to five-week low

The Canadian dollar retreated to a five-week low against the US dollar on Thursday after domestic data showing a drop in exports for the third straight month further weakened prospects the Bank of Canada would increase interest rates again this year. Canada's trade deficit widened in August to C$3.41 billion from a revised C$2.98 billion shortfall in July, as exports fell for a third consecutive month, Statistics Canada said. "Canadian trade in August was very weak, there's no glossing over it," said Adam Button, currency analyst at ForexLive.
At 4:00 p.m. ET (2000 GMT), the Canadian dollar was trading at C$1.2571 to the greenback, or 79.55 US cents, down 0.8 percent. The currency's strongest level of the session was C$1.2463, while it touched its weakest since August 31 at C$1.2585.