TORONTO: The Canadian dollar edged higher against its US counterpart on Friday as prices of oil, one of Canada’s major exports, stabilized after a sharp drop the day before.

US crude prices were up 0.22 percent at $49.01 a barrel.

Gains for the loonie came even as the US dollar climbed against a basket of major currencies. Data showed that US economic growth slowed less sharply in the first quarter than initially thought.

At 9:27 a.m. ET (1327 GMT), the Canadian dollar was trading at C$1.3456 to the greenback, or 74.32 US cents, up 0.2 percent.

The currency traded in a range of C$1.3433 to C$1.3497.—Reuters