Loonie trades in a range of 1.3847 to 1.3889

Price of U.S. oil settles 0.6% lower

Bond yields ease across the curve

TORONTO, May 22 (Reuters) – The Canadian dollar steadied against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday as the greenback notched broad-based gains and ahead of domestic retail sales data that could offer further clues on prospects of the Bank of Canada remaining on hold.

The loonie was trading nearly unchanged at 1.3865 per U.S. dollar, or 72.12 U.S. cents, after trading in a range of 1.3847 to 1.3889.

“Overall mood music on the CAD is turning more bullish, essentially reflecting the increasingly negative perspective investors have on the USD outlook,” Shaun Osborne and Eric Theoret, strategists at Scotiabank, said in a note.

“Higher core inflation for April makes a June rate cut highly unlikely,” the strategists added.

Investors expect the Bank of Canada to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.75% at a policy decision on June 4, rather than resuming an easing campaign, after data on Tuesday showed underlying inflation heating up in April.

Canadian retail sales data for March is due on Friday, with economists forecasting a month-over-month increase of 0.7%.

The U.S. dollar advanced after three days of losses, as the House of Representatives narrowly passed President Donald Trump’s bill for huge tax and spending cuts.

The price of oil, one of Canada’s major exports, settled 0.6% lower at $61.20 a barrel as a report that OPEC is discussing a production increase for July stoked concerns that global supply could outpace demand growth.

Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven democracies, who met in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, pledged to address “excessive imbalances” in the global economy and said they could increase sanctions on Russia.

Canadian government bond yields moved lower across the curve, tracking moves in U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year was down 1.8 basis points at 3.370%, after climbing on Wednesday to a four-month high. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; editing by Diane Craft)