* Loonie falls 0.4% against the U.S. dollar
* Canadian wholesale rises by 0.3 percent in February
* Price of U.S. oil increases 0.3%
* Canadian bond prices edge higher across the yield curve
TORONTO, April 23 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar weakened
to a nearly four-week low against its U.S. counterpart on
Tuesday as the greenback broadly climbed and as investors
awaited a Bank of Canada interest rate decision on Wednesday.
The U.S. dollar rose against a basket of major
currencies, supported by this month's rise in U.S. bond yields.
The Bank of Canada is expected to hold its benchmark
interest rate steady at 1.75% on Wednesday and for the rest of
this year, with calls for the next hike in early 2020 resting on
a knife's edge, a Reuters poll showed.
At 9:12 a.m. (1312 GMT), the Canadian dollar was
trading 0.4% lower at 1.3399 to the greenback, or 74.63 U.S.
cents. The currency touched its weakest since March 29 at
1.3413.
The decline for the loonie came despite a nearly six-month
high for the price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, after
Washington announced all waivers on imports of sanctions-hit
Iranian oil would end next week, pressuring importers to stop
buying from Tehran.
U.S. crude prices were up 0.3% at $65.77 a barrel.
Canadian wholesale trade increased by 0.3 percent in
February from January on stronger sales in the motor vehicle and
parts subsector, Statistics Canada said. Analysts surveyed by
Reuters had forecast a 0.1 percent increase.
Canadian government bond prices edged higher across the
yield curve in sympathy with U.S. Treasuries. The two-year
was up 1.5 Canadian cents to yield 1.612% and the
10-year gained 2 Canadian cents to yield 1.785%.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith
Editing by Susan Thomas)
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