* Loonie trades in a range of 1.3661 to 1.3689
* Speculators raise bearish bets on the currency
* Price of U.S. oil settles 1.1% higher
* 10-year yield was nearly unchanged at 3.693%
TORONTO, May 13 (Reuters) – The Canadian dollar steadied
against its U.S. counterpart on Monday as investors turned
attention to a key U.S. inflation report this week, with the
currency unable to sustain the gains it made following recent
domestic jobs data.
The loonie was trading unchanged at 1.3670 to the
U.S. dollar, or 73.15 U.S. cents, after moving in a range of
1.3661 to 1.3689.
On Friday, the currency touched its strongest intraday level
in one week at 1.3632, clawing back some of this year’s decline,
after data showed Canada’s economy adding 90,400 jobs in April,
five times the number that was forecast.
“Last Friday’s employment data for Canada was not enough to
turn the trend,” said Howard Du, an FX Strategist at BofA
Securities, adding that slower wage growth supports prospects
for a Bank of Canada interest rate cut.
“We still think USD-CAD, this pair, is more driven by U.S.
data than Canadian data,” Du said. “So if U.S. CPI this week
surprises to the downside then that could lead to a more
material USD-CAD selloff.”
The U.S. consumer price index report, due on Wednesday, is
expected to show core inflation slowing to 3.6% on an annual
basis in April.
The price of oil, one of Canada’s major exports,
settled 1.1% higher at $79.12 a barrel, with investors looking
out for potential oil supply disruptions due to wildfires in
Western Canada.
Speculators have raised their bearish bets on the Canadian
dollar, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
showed on Friday. As of May 7, net short positions had increased
to 69,221 contracts from 63,201 in the prior week.
The Canadian 10-year yield was nearly unchanged
at 3.693%, steadying after it touched a one-week high during
Friday’s session at 3.718%.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith;
Editing by Marguerita Choy)