TORONTO – The Canadian dollar was little changed Thursday morning, a day after markets were roiled by worries about whether American legislators can head off looming budget crisis.

The loonie was off 0.03 of a cent to 100.36 cents US after falling almost half a US cent Wednesday.

If a deal isn’t reached by U.S. leaders, tax increases and government spending cuts to the tune of US$800 billion automatically take effect in what is being called a fiscal cliff.

The worry is that that would result in the United States sliding back into recession, dragging down other economies, including Canada’s. Concerns about the economic effects of those moves have pushed the U.S. dollar to a two-month high and sent commodity prices sharply lower.

On Thursday, traders took in data showing a softer than expected reading housing starts in Canada in October. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported starts came in at an annualized rate of 204,100 units against expectations of 210,000.

“Despite low rates and surprisingly resilient investor demand, housing construction looks to be struggling to attain new heights in recent months,” observed CIBC World Markets economist Emanuella Enenajor.

“Although the housing starts data tend to be volatile month to month, we expect to see a trend in softening starts through 2013, as a slowdown in secondary market activity weights on home building.”

Commodity prices were mainly higher following steep losses on Wednesday. December crude gained 87 cents to US$85.31 a barrel after demand concerns, higher inventories and the rising American dollar combined to send prices skidding more than $4.

December copper added a penny to US$3.46 a pound after falling seven cents while December gold bullion dipped 20 cents to US$1,713.80 following a $1 dip Wednesday.

Traders also looked ahead to an afternoon speech and news conference by Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.