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Canadian dollar strengthens 0.4% against the greenback
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Trades in a range of 1.3373 to 1.3459
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Price of U.S. oil falls 0.8%
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Canadian bond yields ease across flatter curve
TORONTO, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday as investor sentiment rose and ahead of jobs data this week that could offer clues on the strength of the domestic economy. Stocks globally climbed, advancing to one-year highs in Europe, and the U.S. dollar lost ground against a basket of major currencies as corporate earnings results dispelled investor worries about the economy and future pace of interest rate hikes.
Economists forecast that Canada's economy added 15,000 jobs in January after a blockbuster 104,000 increase in December. The data is due for release on Friday. Labor market tightness was among the reasons the Bank of Canada raised interest rates last month to a 15-year high of 4.50%. Still, the central bank has signaled a pause in tightening to assess how well rate hikes are working to lower inflation. The Canadian dollar was trading 0.4% higher at 1.3385 to the greenback, or 74.71 U.S. cents, after moving in a range of 1.3373 to 1.3459. Gains for the loonie were less than for the other G10 currencies as the price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, declined. U.S. crude oil futures were down 0.8% at $77.87 a barrel after U.S. oil inventories hit their highest in months. Canadian government bond yields were lower across a flatter curve, tracking the move in U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year eased 3.7 basis points to 2.979%, after touching on Tuesday its highest intraday level in nearly four weeks at 3.109%. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
