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The Canadian dollar plunged below 79 cents US today after data showed Canada’s gross domestic product contracted in November as manufacturing dropped the most since January 2009 and on declines in mining and oil and gas extraction.

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Output shrank by 0.2%, the most in 11 months, to an annualized $1.65 trillion, Statistics Canada said Friday in Ottawa. The median forecast in a Bloomberg economist survey was for output to be little changed.

Manufacturing declined by 1.9% in November, with losses ranging from machinery and equipment to plastics and rubber.

Meanwhile, U.S. economy slowed sharply in the fourth quarter— but consumer spending grew at fastest pace since 2006.

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The Canadian dollar reached the weakest level in almost six years after the data showed the economy shrank in November, bolstering speculation the central bank will cut interest rates again.

The currency headed for a 10th weekly decline, the longest losing stretch since 2000, as the government reported gross domestic product declined 0.2% from October. The Bank of Canada unexpectedly lowered borrowing costs last week for the first time since 2009, saying the move was meant to provide insurance as the slump in crude oil, the nation’s biggest export, weighed on the economy.