TORONTO - The Canadian dollar fell for a fifth straight session that dropped the loonie to September 2010 levels amid a meltdown in the metals markets and a sharp declines in oil prices.

The dollar slipped 0.19 of a cent to 97.14 cents US as commodities sold off amid worries about a global economic slowdown and the mounting European debt crisis.

The currency closed below parity on Wednesday and lost 5.01 cents this week as investors bailed out of anything remotely risky and piled into U.S. Treasury bonds -- which drives the price of the greenback higher against other currencies.

The latest bout of risk aversion was sparked by the U.S. Federal Reserve's warning Wednesday that the U.S. economy is looking vulnerable, which added to uncertainty about how to stop some European governments from defaulting on their debt.

Demand worries and the higher U.S. dollar have sent commodity prices reeling with the price of crude oil shifting below the US$80 a barrel mark earlier Friday morning. But by late morning crude was off the lows of the session with the November crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange down 23 cents to $80.28 a barrel.

Copper prices, often used as a barometer of global economic health, continued to fall with the December contract on the Nymex tumbling 21 cents to US$3.28 after earlier hitting a fresh 52-week low of US$3.21.

The selloff in commodities also hit gold prices while the December contract in New York fell $101.90 to US$1,639.80 an ounce.

Oil and gold both tumbled 9.6 per cent this past week while copper fell 16.53 per cent.

Investors were not reassured by a pledge to stabilize markets from the world's leading economies.

Finance ministers from the G20 countries meeting in Washington vowed Thursday to "take all necessary actions to preserve the stability of the banking systems and financial markets" and to make sure banks have the cash they need to pay their day-to-day expenses.

But the statement was "somewhat disappointing considering the state of the global economy, lack of confidence and ultimate market reaction," observed Scotia Capital chief currency strategist Camilla Sutton.

"However, there is still weekend risk swirling, but we suspect there is little agreement on a concrete plan, which will likely end up weighing further on markets."

The prospect of lower Canadian interest rates also weighed on the currency.

"As global growth concerns flare, expectations for the Bank of Canada continue to shift -- as of today the market is pricing in an 80 per cent chance of an interest rate cut before year-end," added Sutton.