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Loonie trades in a range of 1.3373 to 1.3463
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Price of U.S. oil settles 0.5% lower
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Canadian bond yields rise across curve
(Adds dealer quotes and details throughout; updates prices)
By Fergal Smith
TORONTO, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar edged
lower against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, with the
currency giving back its earlier gains as equity markets fell
and ahead of jobs data that could offer clues on the strength of
the domestic economy.
The loonie was trading 0.1% lower at 1.3460 per
greenback, or 74.29 U.S. cents, after being in a range of 1.3373
to 1.3463.
"It's tracking equities," said Amo Sahota, director at
Klarity FX in San Francisco, adding that the currency was
unlikely to break out of its recent range ahead of Canadian jobs
data on Friday and next Tuesday's U.S. inflation report.
"I would be surprised if we break out of 1.35, or 1.33 on
the downside, before we see the U.S. inflation numbers come
out," Sahota said. "If U.S. inflation looks stronger than
expected I would expect to see a flush out of risk assets
again."
U.S. stock indexes turned lower after a higher open and the
price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, settled down 0.5%
at $78.06 a barrel. A tight U.S. labour market has reduced
optimism the Federal Reserve will soon be able to pause its
aggressive tightening campaign.
The Bank of Canada has already signaled a pause. Economists
forecast that Canada's economy added 15,000 jobs in January
after a blockbuster 104,000 increase in December.
Canadian government bond yields were higher across the
curve, tracking the move in U.S. Treasuries.
The 10-year was up 5 basis points at 3.066%,
moving back in reach of the near four-week high it touched on
Tuesday at 3.109%.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and
Jonathan Oatis)
