TORONTO, Aug 6 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar steadied against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday as the greenback posted broad-based gains and investors turned attention to U.S. and Canadian jobs data.
The loonie was trading nearly unchanged at 1.4015 per U.S. dollar, or 71.35 U.S. cents, after touching its strongest intraday level since June 17 at 1.3991.
The U.S. dollar (.DXY), clawed back some recent losses against a basket of major currencies as investors awaited more details on a proposed U.S.-Iran deal and looked ahead to Friday's U.S. jobs report.
Canadian employment data is also due on Friday. Analysts expect a jobs gain of 15,000 in July and the unemployment rate to remain at 6.5%.
The data is unlikely to shift expectations for the Bank of Canada to leave its benchmark interest rate on hold at 2.25% next month, strategists at Monex Europe said in a note.
"We still look for loonie appreciation in the medium term, but maintain that a sustained break below 1.40 requires calmer geopolitics and concrete CUSMA review progress," the Monex Europe strategists said.
The United States last month declined to extend the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, known as CUSMA in Canada, starting a decade-long clock to wind down the trade deal.
Data on Thursday showed that Canada's services economy contracted for a second straight month in July as economic uncertainty depressed market demand and business sentiment.
Canada's dollar will enter a holding pattern in coming months before notching moderate gains in a year as recent signs of domestic economic recovery support the currency, a Reuters poll showed.
The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, rose 2.8% to $77.32 a barrel as concerns rose about Red Sea shipping.
Canadian bond yields moved higher across the curve, tracking moves in U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year was up 6.2 basis points at 3.623%.
Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Kirsten Donovan
