Suncor slashes spending budget for 2009

Canadian oil sands giant Suncor Energy says it's slashing capital spending this year because of plunging oil prices as it reported a drop in full-year earnings and a loss in its most recent quarter.

Suncor Energy Inc. said Tuesday it was halving its spending plans to $3 billion Canadian ($2.4 billion) and budgeting CA$1 billion ($790 million) for growth projects.

The move marks the second reduction in Suncor's spending outlook. The company trimmed its 2009 budget by more than a third to CA$6 billion ($4.8 billion) last October.

The precipitous drop in commodity prices caused a quarterly loss of CA$215 million ($170 million).