The Canadian dollar traded near the 97-cent US level Thursday as it rode record oil prices and a weak U.S. greenback to levels not seen since the disco era.

The loonie was quoted at 96.83 cents US at the close of trading, up .31 cents from Wednesday's close.

In earlier trading, it went as high as 96.98 cents US, eclipsing the previous 30-year intraday high of 96.70 cents US set July 24. The dollar hadn't been that high since Feb. 22, 1977, according to Bank of Canada data.

Some analysts see the loonie reaching parity with the U.S. dollar by the end of this year. The last time the two currencies traded at par was in November 1976. Currently, a U.S. dollar can be bought for a little less than $1.04 Canadian.

Oil prices hit a record high settlement price on Wednesday, closing above the $80 US a barrel level for the first time amid market concerns of a supply shortage. That's considered a loonie-positive development. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude for October delivery finished at $80.09 a barrel, up 18 cents on the day.

Global currency markets view the Canadian dollar as a "petro-currency" because of the large amounts of crude the country produces and exports — crude that is priced in U.S. dollars. So oil price rises typically lead to upward pressure on the Canadian dollar.

Surging commodity prices have helped the Canadian dollar to gain ground against all 16 of the most actively traded currencies in the world so far this year, according to Bloomberg.

Since early 2002 — when the commodity price boom began — the dollar has gained almost 57 per cent against the U.S. greenback. That strength has made it cheaper to import goods from the U.S. but has hurt the Canadian export market for manufactured goods.

About 250,000 factory jobs have disappeared in the last five years, according to Statistics Canada figures. But growth in other areas has helped to keep the country's jobless rate at a 30-year low.    

The loonie has also been getting an added boost from a broad weakness in the American dollar. For instance, the U.S. dollar is now trading at an all-time low against the euro.  Traders expect the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut its key interest rate by up to half a percentage point on Tuesday. That tends to weaken the U.S. dollar against other currencies and ups the loonie's investment appeal.      

A Wednesday speech in London, England, by Bank of Canada governor David Dodge also lent support to the Canadian currency.

Dodge underlined the strength of the Canadian economy, but said tighter credit conditions might weigh on domestic demand. That was widely interpreted to mean that the markets shouldn't expect a cut in Canadian interest rates any time soon.