(The Canadian Press) TORONTO _ The Canadian dollar was lower while commodities fell in the wake of concerns about China's economy.
The loonie was down 0.18 of a cent to 97.25 cents US as traders also looked ahead to next Wednesday and the release of Canadian gross domestic product figures for May.
There are concerns that an overhaul of China's industrial sector could cause a sharp slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.
Beijing has ordered companies to close factories in 19 industries from steel to glass where overproduction has led to price-cutting wars, affirming its determination to push ahead with a painful makeover of the economy. That move followed weak manufacturing data on Wednesday.
Commodities were lower across the board as demand concerns pushed the September crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange down 85 cents to US$104.64 a barrel.
September copper eased six cents to US$3.13 a pound and August bullion slipped $6.70 to US$1,322.10 an ounce.