Traders will parse for clues from speeches by US Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen and European Central Bank head Mario Draghi later on Friday at the annual central bankers meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The two officials are expected to stay the course on monetary policy.

At 9:20 a.m. EDT (1320 GMT), the Canadian dollar traded at C$1.2520 to the greenback, or 79.87 US cents, unchanged from the previous session's close and mostly underperforming against other major counterparts.

The currency traded within a tight range between C$1.2503 and C$1.2539.

Prices of oil, a major Canadian export, rose modestly on Friday, as the US petroleum industry braced for Hurricane Harvey, flagged to potentially become the biggest storm to hit the US mainland in more than a decade. US crude prices were up 0.23 percent to $47.54 a barrel.

Canadian government bond prices were higher across the maturity curve, with the two-year price up 0.5 Canadian cent to yield 1.264 percent and the benchmark 10-year rising 2 Canadian cents to yield 1.886 percent.

The Canada-US two-year bond spread was -7.8 basis points, while the 10-year spread was -30.6 basis points.