Canadian dollar steadies as oil and stock prices rebound

By Fergal Smith TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar was little changed against a broadly stronger greenback on Friday as oil and stock prices rebounded, but the loonie lost ground for the week as investors worried about threats to the global growth outlook. At 3:47 p.m. (1947 GMT), the Canadian dollar was trading nearly unchanged at 1.3037 to the greenback, or 76.70 U.S. cents. The currency, which on Thursday touched its weakest intraday level in nearly two weeks at 1.3077, traded in a range of 1.3003 to 1.3052. For the week, the loonie was down 0.7 percent as investors worried that higher bond yields and trade conflicts could hurt global economic growth. "You've had this fundamental backdrop that markets are paying attention to, including the increased tension between the United States and China which doesn't bode well if your currency moves with growth dynamics globally," said Bipan Rai, North America head of FX strategy at CIBC Capital Markets. Canada exports many commodities, including oil, and runs a current account deficit so its economy could suffer if the flow of trade or capital slows. The price of oil pared some of this week's losses despite a report from the International Energy Agency that deemed supply adequate and the outlook for demand weakening. U.S. crude oil futures settled 0.5 percent higher at $71.34 a barrel. Canadian heavy crude sells for much less than the price of U.S. oil, with the differential reaching the widest level ever this week at more than $50, according to Shorcan Energy Brokers. "I do think that the discount of WCS (Western Canada Select) to WTI (West Texas Intermediate) matters and that is part of the reason why CAD hasn't participated in the crude rally over the last several weeks," Rai said. The U.S. dollar <.DXY> climbed against a basket of currencies as global equity prices rebounded from this week's rout and robust Chinese export figures soothed worries about the world's second-biggest economy and its trade war with Washington. Canadian home prices were unchanged in September from August as the number of areas across the country posting price gains declined, data showed. Canadian government bond prices were higher across a flatter yield curve, with the 10-year rising 18 Canadian cents to yield 2.480 percent. The gap between Canada's 10-year yield and its U.S. counterpart widened by 3.7 basis points to a spread of 66.6 basis points in favor of the U.S. bond. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)