TORONTO _ The Canadian dollar was at a fresh, five-year low Wednesday morning while the U.S. dollar gained ground after midterm elections that saw the Republicans gain control of the U.S. Congress for the first time in eight years.
The loonie lost 0.19 of a cent to 87.45 cents US as the GOP retained control of the House and gained a majority in the Senate.
The resource-sensitive Canadian currency has lost well over one US cent this week alone amid a stronger U.S. dollar and tumbling oil prices.
The loonie fell almost half a U.S. cent Tuesday while crude prices hit a three-year low after Saudi Arabia announced plans to cut oil prices to its U.S. customers.
Saudi Arabia cut the price in order to compete with a surge in oil production in the United States in a move analysts say suggests the country is more interested in keeping market share than supporting higher prices.
On Wednesday, the December crude oil contract in New York gained 32 cents to US$77.51 a barrel.
The stronger greenback weighed on other commodities priced in U.S. dollars, particularly gold as the December contract in New York fell $24.40 to US$1,143.30 an ounce while the December copper contract shed two cents to US$2.99 a pound.
It was a light day on the economic calendar as traders look to employment data being released Friday in the U.S. and Canada.
Economists expected Statistics Canada to report a loss of about 8,000 jobs last month following a surge in job creation the previous month when the economy cranked out 74,000 jobs.
In the U.S., the forecast calls for the economy to have created about 228,000 jobs on top of the 248,000 positions from September.
There was some positive data ahead of the jobs data. Payroll firm ADP reported that the American private sector created about 230,000 jobs last month, higher than the 220,000 figure that economists expected.