BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- The "loonie," Canada's dollar, reached one-to-one parity against the U.S. dollar Thursday for the first time in 30 years.

    The dramatic half-point cut in U.S. interest rates announced this week, although targeted at strengthening U.S. credit markets, also had the effect of further weakening the dollar against other currencies by reducing the cash yield on dollars.

    And for Canadians, that could mean more shopping trips to the United States as their loonie reached parity with the U.S. greenback for the first time since November 1976. The loonie rose sharply against its U.S. counterpart this week after the Federal Reserve's surprising rate cut.

    The spreading interest rates between America and Canada, which kept its equivalent rates stable, could make America's northern neighbor a more attractive place for German, Japanese, American and other foreign investors to put their money.

    The euro breached the 1.40 U.S. dollar barrier against the dollar on Thursday. That level had long been viewed as a key benchmark in terms of solidifying the euro's position on currency markets and giving it momentum toward becoming a reserve currency of choice — a position long held by the now-weakening dollar.

    The 13-nation euro bought as much as 1.4064 dollars in morning trading in Europe before falling back slightly to 1.4040 dollars, above its previous high Wednesday night of 1.3987 dollars, and more than the 1.3964 dollars it bought in late New York trading.

    David Jones, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in London, said the euro's rise is not likely to abate in the coming days, given fears about another interest rate decrease in the United States.

    (Agencies)