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TORONTO – The Canadian dollar continued to trade below 70 cents US for a second day, after closing below that level on Wednesday for the first time since April 2003.

The loonie was at 69.64 cents US a half-hour before North American stock markets were to open Thursday, down 0.07 of a U.S. cent from the currency’s previous close in Toronto.

MORE: Latest coverage — the plunging loonie

On the commodity markets, the February gold contract was down $1.90 at US$1,085.20 an ounce and the February crude contract was up 34 cents at US$30.82 per barrel — still at near the lowest levels in years.

The Dow Jones index futures were up 83 points at 16,139 points and S&P 500 futures advanced 12 points to 1,893, although most major overseas markets were down.

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On Wednesday, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index lost 203.49 points at 12,170.41, marking its 10th losing day in 11 trading sessions since the Christmas break.