Canadian Dollar Strengthens Amid Risk Appetite, Rising Oil Prices

The Canadian dollar advanced against its most major counterparts in the Asian session on Friday, as Asian stocks rose following the overnight rally on Wall Street amid renewed hopes of tax reform in the U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin indicated that the Trump administration plans to unveil a major tax reform plan "very soon".

Investors will continue to keep an eye on developments in France ahead of the start of the French presidential election. It is still unclear which two of the four top candidates will qualify for the final election on May 7, while a Harris Interactive poll signaled a win for centrist Emmanuel Macron in Sunday's first-round presidential election, helping boost market confidence.

Oil prices rose amid signals that the OPEC is likely to extend the output-cut deal beyond June.

The loonie showed mixed performance on Thursday. While the currency rose against the yen and the greenback, it fell against the aussie and the euro.

The loonie that closed Thursday's trading at 81.15 against the yen and 1.4431 against the euro climbed to a 3-day high of 81.25 and a 2-day high of 1.4418, respectively. The next possible resistance for the loonie is seen around 84.00 against the yen and 1.43 against the euro.

The loonie edged up to 1.3460 against the greenback, compared to yesterday's closing value of 1.3469. Continuation of the loonie's uptrend may see it challenging resistance around the 1.32 region.

On the flip side, the loonie held steady at 1.0143 against the aussie, after easing from an early high of 1.0127. At yesterday's close, the pair was valued at 1.0136.

Looking ahead, PMI reports from major European economies, Eurozone current account data for February and U.K. retail sales for March are due in the European session.

At 7:45 am ET, the Bank of England member Michael Saunders speaks at the Federation of Small businesses in London.

In the New York session, Canada consumer prices for March, Markit's U.S. manufacturing PMI for April and U.S. existing home sales for March are set for release.

At 9:30 am ET, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari speaks at the Community Economic Development Symposium, in St. Paul.