The Canadian dollar continued its seemingly relentless journey higher Monday as it approached 95 cents US.

The loonie closed at 94.48 cents US, up 0.23 cents US from Friday's close.

In earlier trading Monday, it went as high as 94.77 cents US, a 30-year high.

The Canadian currency has gained more than two per cent in the last week against the U.S. dollar and more than 10 per cent so far this year.

Some economists are forecasting that the loonie will eventually reach parity with the U.S. dollar as early as the end of this year — something that hasn't happened since November 1976.

But others see that as unlikely. "Apologies for casting the slightest note of caution on the relentless cruise to parity, but commodity prices did not really budge in the past week, and in fact are only up slightly since the start of 2007," said BMO Capital Markets senior economist Doug Porter.

The Canadian dollar is considered a commodity currency, since Canada is a large producer and exporter of base metals and fossil fuels. The loonie often rises and falls on the strength of resource prices. 

Analysts say the loonie has also benefited from the spate of takeovers that have seen foreign companies buy billions of dollars worth of Canadian firms.

The dollar's recent surge has also been linked to the increasing probability that interest rates will rise. The Bank of Canada gave a strong hint last week that it would need to raise rates as early as July to keep a lid on inflation.