Sept 12 (Reuters) - Futures linked to Canada's main

stock index rose on Thursday, boosted by higher crude prices,

while investors looked forward to key U.S. data.

September futures on the S&P/TSX index were up 0.6%

at 6:20 a.m. ET (10:20 GMT).

The energy sector was in focus as oil prices extended their

rebound amid concerns over Hurricane Francine's impact on U.S.

output.

The material sector was expected to rise as gold prices

edged higher on stronger expectations of a U.S. Federal Reserve

rate cut next week. Meanwhile, copper hit its highest in over a

week on demand rebound in China.

Across the border, Wall Street futures rose slightly after

reversing a selloff to close higher on Wednesday.

While mixed U.S. inflation data pointed to a 25-basis-point

rate cut by the Fed in its Sept. 18 meeting, investors who hoped

for a larger policy reduction were disappointed.

Investors will now parse through more data from the United

States, with the producer prices index numbers and weekly

jobless claims report expected at 8:30 a.m. ET.

The Fed has successfully steered inflation towards a

downward path by keeping tight credit conditions in the range of

5.25%-5.5% for over a year.

In corporate news, Canada's convenience store operator

Alimentation Couche-Tard ( ANCTF ) is discussing how much it

could raise the offer price to buy Japan's Seven & i Holdings ( SVNDF )

, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.

COMMODITIES

Gold: $2,519.92; +0.34%

US crude: $68.57; +1.87%

Brent crude: $71.85; +1.76%

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($1 = 1.3570 Canadian dollars)