Loonie opens trading day above parity with U.S. dollar at 100.18

Toronto - The Canadian dollar opened the trading session fully above the United States dollar up one-third of a cent at 100.18 cents US.

For the last several weeks, the Canadian loonie has flirted around parity with the U.S. dollar and last week it went briefly above parity before contracting but on Wednesday morning, the loonie opened the trading session above the American Greenback at 100.18 cents US, according to The Canadian Press. Backed by growing equity and commodity markets, the Canadian dollar hit its highest point since June 2008, which is one of many currencies that have risen against the U.S. dollar. “The party goes on but it will be interesting to see if we can actually sustain a full trading day below parity. We are looking at some investor appetite for global diversification today away from the U.S. dollar...we look to oil, we look to gold,” said C.J. Gavsie, managing director at BMO Capital Markets, reports Reuters Canada. Most experts feel the rising Canadian currency is a sign that the country’s economy is rebounding from the global recession; however, manufacturing exporters fear a rising loonie. The Vancouver Sun reports that there are a number of factoring contributing to the gains in the Canadian dollar such as oil and the U.S. dollar selling off against most developed world currencies. A new survey released on Wednesday shows that the Canadian economy is expected to grow by 3.3 per cent in 2010, which is considerably higher than the 2.5 per cent that was projected in January’s poll, according to the Montreal Gazette.