[  ...or almost 95 cents !  ]

It kind of hit home when I was looking at Sparky's NARC auction with a opening price of $100 US  = $106 CND.

Wasn't it just 4 years ago it was $1.50+ ???

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=USDCAD=X&t=5y

Gee, if gas wasn't $1/ltr,   I'd be tempted to go on a US pin shopping spree !!!



What's next, CDN $ at par ????    ...  don't laugh,  it's coming...


Cheers,
Steph

CIBC Canada has already predicted that the CAD will be on par with the USD before the end of the year.  

Gas is still cheaper now than it was in the 80s if you factor in inflation

What are you complaining about? At least your cars probably get more than 8 MPG.

My Z06 gets 34 US mpg on the highway (no joke)

Quoted from mark

My Z06 gets 34 US mpg on the highway (no joke)

Tree Hugger.

I failed to mention the 4 mpg in city.

Quoted from mark

My Z06 gets 34 US mpg on the highway (no joke)

...but you don't get tired of pushing it on the 401?

Quoted Text

When it gains ground against the U.S. dollar, for example, Canadian exporters lose ground because their products become more expensive for U.S. buyers. It's simply harder to compete.

Since 2002, Statistics Canada says 189,000 manufacturing jobs have disappeared in Canada. The agency places the blame squarely on the soaring loonie.*

My father owns a company that primarily exports goods to the US market. The layoffs at his business have been steady as the dollar has risen. Where profitability used to be assured, it's becoming increasingly difficult to make money when exporting to the US. Factor in duties and other direct and indirect barriers to trade (free trade isn't always as 'free' as it's made out to be) and the money just isn't there anymore. If you work in an export-related industry whose customers are mainly American, bad news may be on the way if it hasn't come yet.

Quoted Text

But some economists say the difficulties of adjusting to a higher loonie will help exporters in the long run, because they've had to take measures to improve efficiency. The days of relying on a cheap loonie to help them sell in the U.S. are long gone.*

I'm sure the 60 employees that have lost their jobs from my old-man's company will take solace in knowing that they haven't lost their jobs in vain - it's all in the name of greater efficiency (and making one person do the work of two or three).    

And with a Governor of the Bank of Canada that seems to take pleasure in raising interest rates and watching the dollar soar to greater heights, there doesn't seem to be much help on the horizon for Canadian exporters. If you enjoy paying more for your mortgage and sending good Canadian jobs to the South, you have THIS GUY and THIS GUY to thank. Be sure to let them know what you think.

I like paying less for my imports as much as the next person, but everything comes at a price - some more obvious than others.  

*Quotes from: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/dollar_cdn/

I agree with Cooke on this one.... although yes it is great to be able to buy stuff at near-par with the US dollar, you can't buy much if you lose your job!!!

But let's not put all the blame on private Dodge and Big Steve... US economy is in the toilet... blame Dubya as well...

Quoted from Sparky

I agree with Cooke on this one.... although yes it is great to be able to buy stuff at near-par with the US dollar, you can't buy much if you lose your job!!!

But let's not put all the blame on private Dodge and Big Steve... US economy is in the toilet... blame Dubya as well...

I entirely agree that a strong Loonie hurts exports,  (albeit only to the US...)
and I truly hate the idea of anyone losing their job over it,
but the real issue, as Sparky pointed out, is the tanking of the US economy.

The CDN $ is pretty much exactly where it was 5 years ago against the Euro,
but the US $ has taken a beating against all currencies.

Dubya and his War buddies can be thanked for that...


S.

I don't see 95 cents yet (daily high that I see is 94.7867 from Bloomberg) but the trend is there, the street is currently predicting between 96 and par by the end of the year. There are alot of reasons for it and it's not just against the US$, we were under $2.10 to the pound today, and we have gained 10% against the Aussie $ since Feb/07 (the Euro is around 1.42). We are a resource currency (Oil based vs the Aussie which is more Gold based), as everyone knows oil is up Alberta is booming and the feds are running a surplus (in the states the economy is lagging, they are running a major defiect and involved in a war none of which is good for a currency) . That's not to minimize the difficulty for the individual as manufacturing is hit very hard but again few people feel sorrow for the oil patch (primarily Alberta) when oil prices dry up. It's life in the free market I guess which IMHO is significantly better than the alternative.


Squid