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Loonie at par with dollar: What's a Canadian to do? Buy in the States

Believe it or not, but "cheers erupted on the foreign exchange desk at Scotia Capital" yesterday when the loonie (that's what us Canadians call our dollar) first traded at parity with the U.S. dollar -- for the first time in 31 years. I'm sure the scene was similar in other banks across Canada. As is almost usual, though, the Americans beat us to it as they are the ones who actually did the trade, specifically Citigroup's New York currency desk. Oh, well.

The Canadian dollar hit its historic low of 61.79 cents (U.S.) on Jan. 21, 2002, but has gained more than 16% this year and almost 8% since mid-August alone. The True North is indeed strong. But is this good for Canada? For the U.S.? Canadian exporters are no doubt suffering, American ones will be doing better following the fall of the U.S. dollar. Tourism will likely improve in the U.S., but suffer in Canada. And consumers? Canadian consumers aren't happy, but I'm sure U.S. outlet malls along the Canadian border are quite happy. It used to be the other way around.

Continue reading Loonie at par with dollar: What's a Canadian to do? Buy in the States

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Last updated: November 24, 2009: 07:46 AM

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