TORONTO -- The Canadian dollar broke above 80 cents US in morning trading today amid a weakening U.S. currency.
The loonie, which hasn't closed above 80 cents US since June 30, 2015, later dipped slightly, trading at 79.97 cents US, up from Friday's average price of 79.69 cents US.
The dollar has been climbing since the middle of June, when speculation grew that the Bank of Canada was going to raise its key benchmark interest rate.
The central bank hiked its key interest rate on July 12, its first rate increase since 2010.
On Bay Street, Canada's main stock index pulled back moderately as gold and materials stocks lost ground.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 64.91 points to 15,118.22, after 90 minutes of trading.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average declined 64.94 points to 21,515.13, the S&P 500 index lost 4.61 points to 2,467.93 and the Nasdaq composite index was up 1.56 points to 6,389.31.
The September crude contract added 51 cents to US$46.28 per barrel and August natural gas fell six cents to US$2.91 per mmBTU.
August gold was unchanged at US$1,254.90 an ounce and September copper was up one cent to US$2.73 a pound.
