C$ dips but on track to climb 1.6pc this week

TORONTO: The Canadian dollar edged lower against its US counterpart on Friday, trimming some of this week's rally, as domestic data showed a smaller-than-expected increase in retail sales in April.

Canadian retail sales grew by 0.1% in April from March, led by higher sales at gasoline stations, Statistics Canada said. While the April increase was less than the 0.2% advance that analysts had expected, March's already large gain was revised higher to 1.3%.

At 9:07 a.m. (1307 GMT), the Canadian dollar was trading 0.1% lower at 1.3203 to the greenback, or 75.74 US cents. The currency, which on Thursday touched its strongest in more than three months at 1.3151, traded in a range of 1.3163 to 1.3207.

For the week, the loonie was on track to rise 1.6%, boosted by the prospect of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, data showing a seven-month high for Canada's annual rate of inflation and a rally in the price of oil, one of Canada's major exports.

Oil added to this week's gains on fears of a US military attack on Iran that would disrupt flows from the Middle East, the source of more than one-fifth of the world's crude. US crude oil futures were up 0.1% at $57.14 a barrel.

Canadian government bond prices were lower across the yield curve in sympathy with U.S. Treasuries. The two-year fell 3 Canadian cents to yield 1.436% and the 10-year declined 13 Canadian cents to yield 1.480%.

On Tuesday, the 10-year touched its lowest intraday yield in two years at 1.383%.