HOW LOW WILL THE LOONIE GO? MAYBE ANOTHER 5 CENTS SAYS ONE CANADIAN ECONOMIST

Dec 18, 2015

By Jane Brown

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Snowbirds heading to Florida for the winter will be paying a lot more for living expenses than last year.

The Canadian dollar has sunk to its lowest level against the U.S. dollar in more than 11 years. The loonie fell to $71.51 U.S. yesterday. Its value is a little higher than that in overnight trading.

And some economists feel the loonie hasn’t bottomed out yet.

Shaun Osborne, chief foreign exchange strategist at Scotiabank, says he thought his forecast of about 72 cents for 2016 was on the bearish side just a few weeks ago. Now, he sees the potential for a further decline of up to about five cents.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered his comments about the falling loonie while in Vancouver yesterday.

“Whenever there are shifts in the value of the dollar, particularly decreases, there are both challenges and opportunities that arise across the different sectors in the economy. What we need to make sure we’re doing as a government, as an economy, is maximizing the opportunities and minimizing the negative impacts of a decreasing dollar,” said Trudeau.

The loonie is the casualty of a number of strong forces, first and foremost the oil rout. This week, West Texas Intermediate dropped as low as $34.63 a barrel.

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