Canadan dollar nears U.S. parity

MONTREAL, June 1 (UPI) -- The Canadian dollar topped 94 cents in U.S. currency Friday prompting another prediction the "loonie" was headed for parity with the greenback.

The loonie, as the Canadian dollar is known, was trading at 94.21 cents, up 0.70 of a cent from Thursday's close. It had not been in this range since late July 1977, CBS said.

Solid economic growth and an increase in interest rates will push the Canada dollar even with the U.S. dollar by the end of the year, Jeff Rubin, CIBC World Markets chief economist, predicted.