The following is from the 11 April 2011 edition of "The Canadian Business Journal".

If you're planning on cross-border shopping, now is the time. The Canadian dollar is still flying high, closing at $1.04, the highest rate in close to four years. Global commodities have helped the dollar, with high oil prices, record-high gold prices and positive stock futures converging to keep the dollar high.

"Though some of the drivers are favouring a stronger Canadian dollar today than they did in 2007, some are also biased for a slightly weaker CAD. We believe that CAD is sustainable through parity and that USDCAD will close this year at 0.95 and next at 0.92, a pattern of slow and steady appreciation in CAD over time," said Camilla Sutton, a currency strategist at Scotia Capital, in a note to investors.

Sutton predicts the loonie will reach $1.05 by the end of the year, and will reach $1.09 by 2012, due to a weakened U.S. dollar and high oil prices.

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