TORONTO – The Canadian dollar was lower Thursday as traders looked to a key provincial budget coming down later today and another sign of a weak Chinese manufacturing sector.

The loonie was down 0.24 of a cent to 91.0 cents US.

It’s a quiet day for Canadian economic data, but traders will be looking at the contents of the Ontario budget, which is being presented later in the day by the minority Liberal government.

Finance Minister Charles Sousa recently said that the government’s budget deficit was on track to come in at $11.3 billion.

“The immediate questions will likely be: Will the budget get support from the opposition? And if so, will any backsliding in the fiscal plan fly under the credit ratings agencies’ radar?,” said BMO Capital Markets senior economist Michael Gregory.

“Recall that (ratings agency) S&P placed a negative outlook on Ontario’s AA- rating after the 2012 budget.”

Meanwhile, a survey of Chinese manufacturers showed activity grew weakly in April.

The government-sanctioned China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said Thursday its monthly purchasing managers index stood at 50.4 points, up marginally from March’s 50.3 points. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion.

The showing comes as investors wonder if China can maintain growth at the official target of 7.5 per cent.

A separate survey earlier by HSBC Corp. showed April manufacturing activity shrank for a fourth straight month.

The June crude contract in New York fell 82 cents to US$98.92 a barrel.

July copper edged a penny lower to US$3.02 a pound, while June bullion fell $14.10 to US$1,281.80 an ounce.