MARKETS IN PANIC AS INVESTOR ANXIETY GROWS

Crude has fallen below $30 a barrel, the loonie is on its longest losing streak in more than a decade and global stock markets are in the red. Oil: Below $30 Oil has fallen below $30 (U.S.) a barrel in New York for the first time in more than a decade. Benchmark U.S. crude fell $1.78, or 5.7 per cent, to $29.42 a barrel in New York Friday.

Concerns are growing that sanctions on Iran could be lifted as early as this weekend, allowing OPEC’s fifth-biggest member to flood the market.

“(This) is the last thing this market needed,” John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, told Bloomberg. “There’s got to be a bottom someplace, but we haven’t hit it yet.” Loonie: 11 days of losses The Canadian dollar is on its longest losing streak since the 1970s, as speculation mounts that the Bank of Canada will cut interest rates next week.

For 11 straight days, the loonie has fallen against the U.S. dollar, the longest run of daily losses since Canada stopped pegging its dollar to the greenback and let it trade freely in 1971.

Some analysts have warned the loonie will continue its downward trend, possibly going as low as 55 cents. TSX: 23 per cent Canadian stocks continued to tumble on Friday, wiping out the small gains made on Thursday. This was one of the most volatile weeks in recent memory, with the S&P/TSX index deep in the red all day.

It closed at 12.073.46, down 262.57 points, or 2.13 per cent.

Since the beginning of the year, the market has fallen more than 7 per cent and plunged about 23 per cent from its September 2014 record.

Daniel Lloyd, founder and portfolio manager at Sui Generis Investment Partners in Toronto, sees another 10 per cent in declines for Canada’s stock market this year. Other markets Global markets sank sharply Friday. The sell-off started in China, with the main Shanghai index dropping 3.6 per cent. The index has fallen more than 20 per cent from its December high, meeting the common definition of a bear market.

It’s been the worst-ever start to the year for European stocks. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index closed down more than 20 per cent Friday from a record high in April. With files from Star wire services