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C$ relinquishes early gain, ends lower

TORONTO - Canada¡¯s currency closed lower versus the greenback on Thursday as risk averse traders hedged positions ahead of domestic jobs data on Friday that is expected to show unemployment at an 11-year high.

Canada¡¯s currency was also dragged down by oil prices that ended lower after a back-and-forth session that at one point had prices at their highest level since late June. ¨ûID:nSP359441¨ü

¡°Oil (prices) came back towards the end of the day but the Canadian dollar failed to react to the last recovery in the oil price,¡± said Matthew Strauss, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets.

¡°So risk aversion ... and position-squaring ahead of tomorrow¡¯s data, and that¡¯s the reason why the Canadian dollar didn¡¯t really react to the last move in the oil price.¡±

Markets expect Statistics Canada to report net job losses of 17,500 for July, and an unemployment rate of 8.8 percent. The data is due at 7:00 a.m. (1100 GMT).

The Canadian dollar closed at C$1.0767 to the U.S. dollar, or 92.88 U.S. cents, down from C$1.0701 to the U.S. dollar, or 93.45 U.S. cents, at Wednesday¡¯s close.

The lower close erased gains made early in the session when the latest North American economic data supported a view that the worst of the world recession is over.

While not typically a market mover, the Canadian dollar did rally as high as C$1.0687 to the U.S. dollar, or 93.57 U.S. cents, after data showed Canadian builders unexpectedly took out more permits in June than in May ¨ûID:nN06293340¨ü

The report came at the same time as U.S. data that showed the number of people filing initial claims for jobless benefits fell in the latest week. ¨ûID:nN05350423¨ü.

And shortly after that were upbeat comments from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, who said he sees a gradual recovery in 2010. ¨ûID:nFAE005213¨ü

Bond prices edge higher

Canadian bond prices ended higher alongside the bigger U.S. Treasury market, snapping two straight sessions of declines, as dealers were cautious ahead of Friday¡¯s jobs figures.

The two-year Canadian bond edged up 3 Canadian cents to C$99.08 to yield 1.458 percent, while the 10-year bond gained 33 Canadian cents to C$101.63 to yield 3.551 percent.

The 30-year bond rose 80 Canadian cents to C$116.25 to yield 4.023 percent. In the United States, the 30-year Treasury yielded 4.546 percent.

Canadian bonds outperformed U.S. Treasuries across the curve. The Canadian 30-year bond was about 52.3 basis points below the U.S. 30-year yield, compared with about 49.5 basis points below on Wednesday.