By Chris Fournier Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Canada’s dollar weakened for a second straight day as crude oil, the nation’s largest export, dropped and the U.S. currency advanced against most of its major counterparts. The Canadian currency depreciated 0.2 percent to C$1.0447 per U.S. dollar at 7:20 a.m. in Toronto, from C$1.0430 yesterday, when it reached C$1.0371, the strongest level since Jan. 20. One Canadian dollar buys 95.75 U.S. cents. Crude oil fell for the first time in six days, with April futures dropping 1.7 percent to $78.83 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Canada’s dollar gained 16 percent last year as the price of crude oil almost doubled. The loonie, nicknamed for the image of the aquatic bird on the C$1 coin, will weaken to C$1.05 by the end of this quarter, according to the median forecast of 30 economists and analysts in a Bloomberg News survey. The currency has advanced 0.8 percent in 2010. The nation’s current-account deficit probably narrowed in the fourth quarter to C$8.9 billion ($8.5 billion) from C$13.1 billion in the previous three months, according to the median estimate of 14 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Statistics Canada is scheduled to release the data on Feb. 26. To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Fournier in Montreal at cfournier3@bloomberg.net

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