C$ slips to C$0.9957 to the U.S. dollar, or $1.0043

The Canadian dollar eased against the U.S. currency on Thursday on weakening oil prices and concerns that  the European debt crisis could spill over to France and hurt global economic growth

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Trade data from both Canada and the United States, due at 8:30 a.m., could be a factor influencing the currency, though analysts said broader factors would likely weigh on sentiment. Concern has shifted to the health of French and Italian banks, which are heavily exposed to euro zone sovereign debt problems, but there was no evidence of fresh reasons for Thursday’s declines.