TORONTO, Sept 8 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar was barely changed against its U.S. counterpart on Monday ahead of key U.S. inflation data this week and after speculators raised their bearish bets on the Canadian currency to the highest level since April.
The loonie was trading nearly unchanged at 1.3825 per U.S. dollar, or 72.33 U.S. cents, after moving in a range of 1.3789 to 1.3844. On Friday, the currency touched its weakest intraday level since August 27 at 1.3854.
"Currency markets are back in consolidation mode as investors keep an eye on international developments and await inflation data that could alter U.S. monetary policy expectations across the front end of the curve," Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay, said in a note.
The U.S. consumer price index report for August is set for release on Thursday. It follows disappointing U.S. and Canadian jobs data on Friday that raised expectations for interest-rate cuts on both sides of the border and led to declines for the loonie and the U.S. dollar against other Group of Ten currencies.
"The gap between Canadian and U.S. unemployment rates, which has proven a relatively strong predictor of long-term moves in currency markets, has widened in recent months, adding to the bear case against the loonie even as problems south of the border have contributed to the greenback’s broader decline," Schamotta said.
At 7.1% in August, Canada's unemployment rate stands well above the 4.3% rate in the United States.
Separate data on Friday, from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, showed net short positions in the Canadian dollar held by non-commercial accounts had climbed to 108,976 contracts as of September 2 from 105,015 in the prior week. .
The price of oil rose 0.7% to $62.29 a barrel after producer group OPEC+ opted for a modest output hike. Oil is one of Canada's major exports.
The Canadian 10-year yield was down 3.7 basis points at 3.230%, after touching its lowest level since June 3 at 3.214%.
Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Richard Chang
