TORONTO: The Canadian dollar slumped to its lowest level in nearly two months against its US counterpart on Friday as news of a possibly new vaccine-resistant coronavirus variant spooked global financial markets. Global stocks and oil, one of Canada’s major exports, tumbled as investors scurried to the safety of bonds, the yen and the Swiss franc.

Scientists say the variant, detected in South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong, has an unusual combination of mutations, may be able to evade immune responses and could be more transmissible. US crude prices fell 5.4% to $74.17 a barrel, while the Canadian dollar was trading 0.9% lower at 1.2760 to the greenback, or 78.37 US cents, the biggest decline among G10 currencies.