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Apple Inc. has refreshed its MacBook Air line of laptop computers, setting the same introductory price in both Canada and the United States — a sign the cost chasm between identical products sold on opposite sides of the border may finally be starting to close.

“It may represent the start of a trend,” Doug Porter, deputy chief economist with BMO Capital Markets, said Thursday. “It is certainly not impossible and I think you might see a narrowing of retail prices between Canada and the U.S. But these are the sort of things that take time.”

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In April, an analysis by Mr. Porter of the price gap between common consumer products on both sides of the border came to a seemingly conflicting conclusion.

Despite the Canadian dollar trading at a three-year high relative to its U.S. counterpart at the time, Canadians were still paying far more than U.S. consumers for many items.

Now that the loonie has increased its lead even more, soaring to a new 3-1/2 year high of US106.13¢ against the greenback Thursday, there is reason to believe Canadian retail prices are beginning to catch up.