A Canadian dollar coin, commonly known as the "Loonie", is pictured in this illustration picture taken in Toronto in this January 23, 2015, file photo. The Canadian dollar pared earlier session losses against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, strengthening after data showed January growth was better than feared. REUTERS/Mark Blinch/FilesMARK BLINCH/Reuters
The loonie remained below 80 cents US on Thursday but battled back to reverse steep losses early in the day when it traded as low as 79.16 cents in pre-market hours. The Canadian dollar climbed to 79.70 cents at 12:55 and closed North American trading hours at 79.71, gaining .0025 or 0.31% from Wednesday's close.
The loonie benefited from a weaker U.S. dollar, which fell on decidedly mixed US economic data. Both jobs and manufacturing figures fell short as American factory orders slipped in May, June employment numbers failed to meet expectations, and May's were also revised downward. This puts the Fed's September rate hike in limbo at least short-term.
The Toronto stock market also gained ground on Thursday and oil futures climbed but were tempered by a rise in U.S. oil drilling numbers, which increased for the first time in 29 weeks.
Greece continued to cause global market trepidation as creditors pushed for a defiant Athens to raise taxes and cut spending. The IMF projected that Greece will need an estimated $50 billion euros over 3-years to stay financially sound and summarily cut the forecast for Greek economic growth from 2.5% to zero.
A public referendum on the bailout is still scheduled for Sunday but Eurozone finance ministers warn that if the vote on the rescue package fails, Greece would be left with fewer options than before and a tougher path back to solvency.