The Canadian dollar kept gaining ground Friday while its U.S. counterpart continued to slump to new lows.

The loonie opened the day at $1.0401 US, before pulling back slightly to close at $1.0393 — up two-fifths of a cent from Thursday's close. The loonie has not been that high since mid-1974.

So far this year, the loonie has gained almost 20 cents against the U.S. dollar.

The Canadian dollar's postwar high was $1.0614 US, set back on Aug. 21, 1957. 

As part of its continued weakness, the U.S. dollar earlier reached a new record low Friday against the euro before regaining some ground.

Economists see the U.S. Federal Reserve moving to cut interest rates next week to boost the economy. The Fed made a surprise cut of half a percentage point in September, but some economists said that has not been enough to stimulate demand in the U.S.

Soaring oil prices were also contributing to the loonie's rise. The price of light, sweet crude oil for December delivery rose $1.40 to settle at $91.86 US per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Earlier in the day, the price of crude topped $92 US.