(Adds strategist quotes and details throughout; updates prices)
* Canada sheds 294,200 jobs in June, ADP says
* Oil prices slide
* Canadian bond yields fall across yield curve
By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed
July 15 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar fell to near a
three-month low against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, hurt
by dismal economic data and weakness in oil prices.
The loonie found little support from Bank of Canada Governor
Tiff Macklem's comments in a media interview that the central
bank will tackle inflation to get it back on target if temporary
price pressures become persistent, but that it was not automatic
that it would raise interest rates.
At 3:40 p.m. EDT (1940 GMT), the Canadian dollar was
trading 0.8% lower at 1.2604 to the greenback, or 79.34 U.S.
cents, its lowest level since April 21.
Canada's scorching hot housing market is starting to cool,
as buyers shift their focus from getting more space to getting
back to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fear of
missing out in the market fades into a prevailing sense of "wait
and see."
Separately, Canada lost 294,200 jobs in June, mainly on a
plunge in service-sector jobs in industries hit hard by COVID-19
restrictions, a report from payroll services provider ADP showed
on Thursday.
The Canadian dollar was also hurt by weakness in the price
of oil, one of Canada's major exports. Oil fell 1% on
expectations of more supply after a compromise agreement between
leading OPEC producers and following a surprisingly poor weekly
reading on U.S. fuel demand.
The Canadian currency fell a day after the Bank of Canada's
said it was cutting the scope of its bond-buying program but
holding its key interest rate at a record low.
"A case of sell the rumor, buy the news was apparent
following the BoC announcement on Wednesday," Ronald Simpson,
managing director of global currency analysis at Action
Economics, said in a note.
Canadian bond yields fell across the yield curve, with the
10-year down about 3 basis points at 1.262%.
(Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed
Editing by Paul Simao)
