Greek debt crisis stalls loonie's expected flight to parity, for now

The loonie's assault on parity with the U.S. dollar appears to have stalled — for now — amid a flight to safety from the spreading Greek contagion.

With the sovereign debt crisis threatening to metastasize across southern Europe, the Canadian currency is once again finding it difficult to stay aloft as investors flee to traditional safe-haven currencies, particularly the greenback.

The loonie fell for the second straight day Wednesday — at one time plunging close to a cent to a two-month bottom of 96.58 cents US — before recovering somewhat to 97.12 cents. (more)