Canadian dollar plunges against major rivals

During New York morning trading on Tuesday, the Canadian currency plunged against major opponents. Canadian labor productivity unexpectedly rose in the first quarter as hour worked fell sharply, according to data released today by Statistics Canada.

The labor productivity of Canadian businesses rose 0.3% in the first quarter. The decline in unit labor costs in Canadian businesses in US dollars continued for a third consecutive quarter, as their costs decreased by 1.8% in the first quarter.

Economists expected a 0.2% drop from the previous quarter.

The loonie extended European session's weakness against the British pound and the euro in New York morning deals today. The loonie fell to new multi-month low of 1.8661 against the pound and a 12-day low of 1.5749 versus the euro by about 11:35 am ET, compared to yesterday's closes of 1.8499 and 1.5647, respectively.

The Canadian dollar also traded lower against the US dollar and the Japanese yen in New York morning and touched today's lows of 1.1351 and 84.91, respectively.