TORONTO - The Canadian dollar weakened against the greenback Friday morning as the latest snapshot on the U.S. economy showed fourth quarter growth coming in close to expectations. The loonie was down 0.16 of a cent to 100.46 cents US as gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 3.2 per cent during the October-December period. Economists had looked for growth of about 3.5 per cent. The fourth quarter results are an improvement from the 2.6 per cent advance in the previous quarter. And it was the best quarterly showing since the start of last year. "As expected, domestic demand was strong thanks to consumption (up 4.4 per cent) but there was an offset by investment and the expected contraction in government spending," said a commentary from CIBC World Markets. "A healthy performance from consumption was complemented by a decent showing from trade." The Canadian dollar's dip came amid higher prices for oil and copper. The March crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 26 cents to US$85.90 a barrel. The March copper contract on the Nymex added three cents to US$4.37 a pound. Gold prices lost ground for a second day, down $4 to US$1,314.40. Bullion prices fell almost US$15 Thursday after European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet told the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos that major central banks "are very united in purpose to maintain price stability" and anchor inflationary expectations. Gold saw sharp increases in 2010 as investors looked to it as a hedge against inflation and against falling currencies.

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