* Canadian dollar at C$1.2299 or 81.31 U.S. cents
* Bond prices higher across the maturity curve
TORONTO, May 25 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar was steady
against its U.S. counterpart on Monday in light holiday trading
and ahead of a busy week in Canadian economic news.
Investors are focused on the Bank of Canada's interest rate
decision on Wednesday and first-quarter economic growth data on
Friday.
The loonie's pause comes after a retreat to a five-week low
on Friday and with U.S. and many European markets closed for
various holidays.
* At 9:14 a.m. EDT (1314 GMT), the Canadian dollar
was trading at C$1.2299 to the greenback, or 81.31 U.S. cents,
little changed from the Bank of Canada's official close of
C$1.2301, or 81.29 U.S. cents on Friday.
* The currency traded within a relatively narrow range of
between C$1.2276 and C$1.2307.
* The price of oil, a key Canadian export and driver for the
currency, was just marginally lower. U.S. crude was down
0.47 percent at $59.44, while Brent crude lost 0.06
percent to $65.33.
* The loonie, which was weaker than most of its key currency
counterparts, is expected to trade between C$1.2250 and C$1.2320
against the U.S. dollar on Monday, according to RBC Capital
Markets.
* Canadian government bond prices were generally higher
across the maturity curve, with the two-year price up
1.5 Canadian cents to yield 0.673 percent and the benchmark
10-year rising 15 Canadian cents to yield 1.755
percent.
* The Canada-U.S. two-year bond spread was 5.5 basis points,
while the 10-year spread was -46.0 basis points.
(Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)