TORONTO — Crude oil briefly dipped below US$30 a barrel today, hours after the Canadian dollar fell beneath the 70-cent U.S. mark.
At one point in early afternoon trading, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate was trading for as low as US$29.93 before it regained some ground.
The plunge coincided with the fall of the loonie, which for the first time in nearly 13 years fell below the 70-cent U.S. mark.
Like oil, the currency's value fluctuates on a second-by-second basis but fell to 69.89 cents U.S. before noon ET.
It was the first time the loonie was below 70 cents U.S. since the spring of 2003, according to Bank of Canada data.
The last time the dollar settled below that threshold was on April 30, 2003, when it closed at 69.76 cents U.S.