The Canadian dollar reached parity with the greenback and traded at a higher level compared to its U.S. counterpart today for the first time since July 2008 amid soaring prices for the crude oil, the main nation’s export, on outlook for higher interest rates and because of rising prices for some commodities.

The Canadian currency, commonly referred to as the loonie, benefited from the increasing price for the crude oil, which reached the highest level since October 2008 today as the global economic recovery have led to expectations for the growing fuel demand. The country, being the biggest trading partner of the U.S., profited from the increasing U.S. demand for such commodities as gold, copper, oil and wheat. The demand from the emerging markets, like China and India, is also improving the Canadian economy.

Analysts think that loonie’s parity with the U.S. currency will become a normal situation in the near future. Canada is the second biggest wheat exporter in the world and also has the biggest pool of oil reserves except the Middle East.

USD/CAD reached 1.0000 as of 19:14 GMT after opening at 1.0019 and reaching the lowest level of 0.9987 today. EUR/CAD trade at 1.3398 down from the opening price of 1.3497.

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