OFF THE WIRE

TORONTO, Aug 20 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar touched a near three-month high against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday and bond yields rose as investors weighed higher ​oil prices and prospects for a trade deal between the U.S. ‌and Canada.

The U.S. Department of Energy is awarding $500 million in grants to seven companies building domestic lithium, cobalt and other mineral and battery projects, the latest in ‌a string of investments aimed at bolstering American mining and processing, according to a document seen by ‌Reuters.

Ghana’s union of mineworkers delivered a petition to the central bank on Thursday to demand more than 380 million cedis ($34.55 million) they say they are owed and that have been frozen since a clean-up of the financial sector.Under reforms begun in August 2017 and completed in 2019 to address widespread insolvency and weak governance, the central bank revoked the licences of over 400 financial institutions.

SINGAPORE/LONDON/NEW YORK, Aug 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury's surprise bond buyback plans briefly stemmed a global rise in long-term borrowing ​costs, but lingering concerns about inflation and expanding government debt sent longer-dated Treasury yields higher again on Thursday, while the dollar edged up.The Treasury responded ‌on Wednesday to U.S. long-bond yields hitting the highest level since 2007 by doubling long-end buybacks to at least $4 billion per operation.

Aug 20 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President Alberto Musalem said on ​Thursday that while he is keeping an open mind ‌about what sort of policy action he will recommend at next month’s central bank rate-setting meeting, he implied higher rates are still justified ​by how the economy is performing.