Loonie back at par

Last Updated: Thursday, December 20, 2007 | 11:18 AM ET
CBC News
The Canadian dollar was trading above par with the U.S. dollar for the first time in more than two weeks on Thursday.

The loonie was quoted at $1.0018 US in mid-morning trading, up just over half a cent from Wednesday's close. It went as high as $1.0045 US in earlier trading.

"It doesn't appear that there was any news to fuel the move, likely just a big buyer," said BMO Capital Markets economist Benjamin Reitzes.

The loonie hit a modern day high of $1.1030 US in early November before it began a steady retreat as investors sold off positions in the Canadian dollar as commodity prices slipped from record highs.

The dollar fell below 98 cents US on Dec. 13 before slowly recovering to parity.

Since early 2002, when the Canadian dollar was worth 61.79 cents US, the currency has seen a steady increase in value as prices of oil and other commodities Canada surged and the U.S. dollar weakened against a wide range of currencies.