By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar fell to a seven-week low against the U.S. dollar on Monday, weighed down by lower oil prices, as investors dumped commodity-linked currencies amid fears about the spread of the latest coronavirus, which broke out in China a few weeks ago.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars, also tied to commodity prices like the Canadian currency, were under pressure as well.
Investors are worried about the impact of the virus on travel, tourism and broader global economy.
U.S. crude oil prices fell to their lowest in more than three months on concerns that the virus could hamper economic growth and reduce demand for fuel. U.S. crude oil futures (CLc1) were down 3% at $52.52 per barrel.
Oil prices have lost 13% of their value since news of the virus grabbed headlines last week.
The death toll from the virus rose to 81 on Monday, with more than 2,800 infected.
A small number of cases linked to people who traveled from Wuhan have been confirmed in more than 10 countries, including Thailand, France, Japan and the United States, but no deaths have been reported outside China. Cambodia confirmed its first case on Monday.
"This is all about the virus headlines and risk aversion and the flight to the U.S. dollar," said Shaun Osborne, chief FX strategist at Scotia Bank in Toronto.
"There has been a significant sell-off in commodity prices, and that's why we're seeing a sell-off as well in the Aussie (Australian dollar), Kiwi (New Zealand dollar), and Canadian dollar."
In midmorning trading, the Canadian dollar was down against the greenback, which was up 0.3% at C$1.3193. It fell to C$1.32 per U.S. dollar, the lowest since mid-December.
The Canadian dollar has been on a downtrend since the Bank of Canada took an unexpected dovish turn last week when it left its benchmark interest rate steady at 1.75%, as expected, but said a future cut was possible should a recent slowdown in domestic growth persist.
In the debt market, Canadian government debt yields were lower across the maturity curve, with the two-year yield (CA2YT=RR) down at 1.438% versus 1.486% late on Friday.
Benchmark 10-year yields also fell to 1.303% (CA10YT=RR), from Friday's 1.362%. Earlier in the session, 10-year yields fell to a 3-1/2-month low of 1.3%.