TORONTO _ The Canadian dollar moved lower early Tuesday as prices for both crude oil and gold lost ground.
The loonie fell 0.27 of a cent to 88.01 cents US, giving back a portion of the near full-cent gain from Monday.
Pulling the currency lower were weaker oil prices, which gave up some of the gains made in the previous session. The January crude contract dropped 80 cents to $68.20 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Oil prices have plunged about 35 per cent from mid-summer highs because of a higher U.S. dollar, lower demand and most particularly, a glut of global supply.
Gold bullion edged down $16.90 to $1,201.20 for the February contract, while March copper slid 4.4 cents to US$2.85 a pound.
In economic news, the Bank of Canada makes its next announcement on interest rates on Wednesday.
The central bank is universally expected to leave its key rate unchanged at one per cent, where it's been for more than four years. The Bank of England and European Central Bank make their rate announcements on Thursday.
With no major data releases on the calendar, the currency will largely be motivated on the central bank's interest rate decision and statement, said Camilla Sutton, chief FX strategist at Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets.
``The market unanimously expects interest rates to be on hold at one per cent, however the tone from the statement will be closely watched,'' she wrote in a note.