Loonie down amid mixed commodity prices, South Korean free trade deal

TORONTO – The Canadian dollar was lower Tuesday amid a dearth of market-moving economic news.

The loonie was down 0.14 of a cent to 89.95 cents US.

The currency’s dip came amid what Prime Minister Stephen Harper is calling a major boost for Canadian exporters looking to establish themselves in the Asian market.

Canada and South Korea have signed a free-trade agreement after a decade of talks.

Once in force, it will eliminate virtually all tariffs between the countries, with Korea cutting 81.9 per cent of duties upon the first day of the deal coming into force, and Canada removing 76.4 per cent of levies.

Some tariffs, particularly in agriculture, will take more than a dozen years be fully phased out.

On the commodity markets, copper prices were higher after getting slammed over the past two sessions on Chinese growth concerns.

The latest worry centred around data that showed that exports of the world’s second biggest economy fell by an unexpectedly large 18 per cent in February. The country’s official 2014 economic growth target of 7.5 per cent assumes trade also will grow by 7.5 per cent.

On Tuesday, the May copper contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained one cent to US$3.04 a pound after shedding six per cent over the last two sessions.

Oil prices also suffered from the Chinese data and on Tuesday, the April crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was down a penny to US$101.11 a barrel.

April bullion gained $9.30 to US$1,350.80 an ounce.