Loonie tops 74 cents as oil rises above $50 US

The Canadian dollar rallied to its highest level of the month on Fridayon the back of a corresponding rally in oil prices.

The loonie was changing hands at an even 74 cents USwhen stock markets closed on Friday, up almost half a cent on the day.

The main catalyst for the loonie's rise was a rally in oil prices, which crossed the $50 US threshold for the first time in May.

OPEC is currently limiting production in an attempt to boost prices, and the cartel said Friday that members were considering extending that policy for longer than anticipated.

West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark price for North America, was going for $50.37 US a barrel in New York on Friday, up $1.02 on the day.

Oil's rise was also good news for the TSX, which gained more than 181 points to close at 15,458.

Stock markets in both Canada and the U.S. fell sharply on Wednesday on fears that the U.S. president's pro-business agenda wouldn't come to fruition, undone by a host of scandals.

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But both the TSX and Dow rose on Thursday and Friday to keep the rally going.

"It's clearly been a roller-coaster week, with equities being swayed between political uncertainty and improving fundamentals," said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

Despite the tumult in Washington, "President Trump's pro-growth agenda of tax reform, less regulation, infrastructure spend and the like, in our view, still remain drivers of higher stock prices."