The Canadian dollar surged to a modern-day high against the U.S. dollar late Wednesday after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates again and oil prices surged to another all-time high.

In after-hours trading, the loonie went as high as $1.0617 US, eclipsing the previous 50-year high of $1.0614 US set on August 21, 1957.

That's the highest the Canadian dollar has climbed since it was allowed to float in 1950.

You have to go back more than a century to find a time when the Canadian dollar was worth more.

According to a history of the dollar posted on the Bank of Canada website, the U.S. dollar plunged in 1864 as the Confederate Army approached Washington during the U.S. Civil War and the Union government temporarily shut down gold trading.

On July 11, 1864, the Canadian dollar was worth $2.78 US.

"This represents the all-time peak for the Canadian dollar in terms of its American counterpart," author James Powell wrote.

But there is some question about whether the two currencies can be validly compared to each other at that time. The Bank of Canada web site only lists exchange data going back to 1950.

It was just six weeks ago that the loonie reached parity with the U.S. dollar for the first time in 30 years. It's just kept climbing since.

It's risen by 23 per cent against the U.S. dollar since the start of the year.  

The loonie's rise Wednesday was again due, in part, to another drop in the worldwide value of the U.S. dollar. 

Wednesday afternoon's Federal Reserve rate cut helped to drive down the greenback against most major currencies. It reached a record low against the euro.

Also giving some support to the loonie Wednesday were rising oil prices, a relatively good August economic report for Canada, and the promise of $60 billion in tax cuts over the next five years outlined in Tuesday's economic statement.

Oil hits new record high

Canada's dollar is regarded as a commodity-driven currency that is closely tied to the fluctuations in the price of oil.

So when the latest U.S. oil inventory figures showed an unexpected fall in supplies Wednesday, light sweet crude for December delivery surged more than $4 US to hit a record $94.45 US a barrel. 

Earlier Wednesday, Statistics Canada reported the Canadian economy grew by 0.2 per cent in August, topping the 0.1 per growth that had been projected by economists.

Market watchers also said the corporate and personal tax cuts contained in Tuesday's economic statement were stimulative and therefore loonie-positive.