The Canadian dollar closed above parity Wednesday for the first time since the end of October.

The loonie closed up .37 of a cent at 100.09 cents US.

Currency traders were encouraged by manufacturing data for China and the United States, which eased concerns that the economic growth rates of both countries is slowing.

The Institute for Supply Management said its U.S. manufacturing index for January came in at 54.1, which showed continuing expansion but the reading was slightly short of economist expectations for a 54.5 reading.

In China, two surveys gave mixed signals on manufacturing activity in January but both showed it largely unchanged.

The state-affiliated China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said its purchasing managers index rose 0.2 points to 50.5 from December's 50.3 on a 100-point scale on which numbers above 50 indicate growth.

HSBC Corp. said its HSBC China Manufacturing PMI was little changed at 48.8 from December's 48.7, suggesting a "moderate deterioration."

With files from The Canadian Press