The Canadian dollar strengthened against the greenback on Friday, and the yield on benchmark government debt climbed.

The loonie was trading 0.1% higher at C$1.3545 to the greenback, or 73.83 U.S. cents, after trading in a range of 1.3543 to 1.3576.

Canadian government 10-year bond yields rose 1.6 basis points to 2.942%. The yield on similar U.S. government benchmark debt fell to 3.7319%.

U.S. October crude futures fell 28 cents to $71.67 a barrel on Friday.

Canadian retail sales rose 0.9% in August from July. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected retail sales growth of 0.6%.Excluding autos, retail sales rose 0.4% in August, Statistics Canada said. Analysts had forecast August sales, excluding autos, to be up 0.3%.