The Canadian dollar firmed against its major counterparts in early New York deals on Friday, as a data showed that the Canadian economy expanded more than forecast in May, supporting hopes for another rate rise from the Bank of Canada this year.

Data from Statistics Canada showed that the GDP rose 0.6 percent to C$1.73 trillion on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, following a 0.2 percent uptick in April.

Economists had forecast the index to match the April reading.

Crude oil futures rose ahead of the Baker Hughes U.S. rig count data due at 1.00 pm. In the prior week, the North American Rig Count was 1156 and U.S. rig count was 950.

Crude for September delivery rose $0.27 to $49.31 per barrel.

The loonie has been trading in a positive territory in the European session.

The loonie climbed to 1.2440 against the greenback, after having dropped to 1.2567 at 1:00 am ET. The loonie is likely to find resistance around the 1.23 region.

Data from the Commerce Department showed that U.S. economic activity increased in line with economist estimates in the second quarter.

The report said real gross domestic product climbed by 2.6 percent in the second quarter after rising by a downwardly revised 1.2 percent in the first quarter.

The loonie strengthened to a 2-day high of 0.9930 versus the aussie, following an 8-day low of 1.0024 of hit at 3:00 am ET. The next possible resistance for the loonie is seen around the 0.97 mark.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that Australia's producer prices rose 0.5 percent on quarter in the second quarter of 2017 - unchanged from the previous three months.

On a yearly basis, producer prices jumped 1.7 percent - accelerating from 1.3 percent in the three months prior.

The loonie advanced to 1.4600 against the euro and 89.23 against the yen, off its early more than 2-week low of 1.4714 and a 4-day low of 88.33, respectively. On the upside, 1.43 and 92.00 are likely seen as the next resistance levels for the loonie against the euro and the yen, respectively.

Looking ahead, U.S. University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index for July and U.S. Baker Hughes rig count data are slated for release shortly.

At 1:20 pm ET, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari is expected to speak at a town hall event, in Minnesota.

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