Loonie pounded again, heading for worst week since '71

Currency traders shook off Canada's stellar jobs showing Friday and continued to pound the loonie, suggesting that gloom trumps any good economic news in the current market.

Canada's dollar dipped below 84 cents US at noontime, slipping to 83.98 cents, down 3.07 cents from Thursday's noontime fixing of 87.06.

The loonie plunged despite a brief burst of optimism early Friday when Statistics Canada reported that the country produced more than 100,000 new jobs in September.

After the jobs report was published, the dollar initially recovered to a level of 86.22, up from a low of 85.84 in prior trading. But as traders began to consolidate their holdings, the Canuck currency nose-dived, falling below 85 cents.

Good news about jobs didn't help the Canadian dollar Friday. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

At this pace, the loonie is poised to post its worst weekly showing since 1971.

Already the dollar has lost 7.4 per cent of its value this week and has reached its lowest level since March 2007.

Many global currencies are losing value in the face of the financial crisis that is spreading throughout the industrialized world.