TORONTO, May 7 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar steadied near a one-week low against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday as investors awaited domestic jobs data that could guide expectations for interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada.
The loonie was trading nearly unchanged at 1.3630 per U.S. dollar, or 73.37 U.S. cents, after touching its weakest intraday level since last Thursday at 1.3645.
Canadian employment data, due on Friday, is expected to show the economy adding 15,000 jobs in April and the unemployment rate remaining at 6.7%.
"Weaker prints would undermine expectations for Bank of Canada tightening and could see USD-CAD return toward the upper end of its recent 1.35–1.37 range," strategists at Monex Europe said in a note.
"In the meantime, continued uncertainty over Middle East hostilities and energy prices suggests the pair will remain range‑bound."
Investors expect the BoC to hike twice by December, swap market data show.
The United States and Iran are edging toward a temporary agreement to halt their war, sources and officials said, with Tehran reviewing a proposal that would stop the fighting but leave the most contentious issues unresolved.
The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, clawed back some of the previous day's sharp decline as investors weighed prospects the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened. U.S. crude oil futures were up 0.7% at $95.71 a barrel.
The loonie is expected to give back some recent gains in the coming months, but could resume its uptrend if economic uncertainty linked to the war and U.S. tariffs eases, according to a Reuters poll.
Canadian government bond yields moved higher across the curve, tracking moves in U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year was up 2.7 basis points at 3.539%, after earlier touching its lowest level since April 27 at 3.474%.
Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Alistair Bell
