CANADA FX DEBT-Canadian dollar gains as hopes rise of coronavirus slowdown

    * Canadian dollar rises 0.4% against the greenback
    * Loonie trades in a range of 1.4081 to 1.4261
    * Price of U.S. oil decreases 3.5%
    * Canadian bond yields rise across the curve

    TORONTO, April 6 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar
strengthened against its U.S. counterpart on Monday as signs of
a slowdown in coronavirus-related deaths bolstered investors
sentiment, offsetting lower oil prices.
    Stocks globally          rose as the death toll from the
virus slowed across major European nations including France and
Italy.             
    Canada runs a current account deficit and is a major
producer of commodities, including oil, so the loonie tends to
be sensitive to the global flow of trade and capital.
    U.S. crude oil futures        were down 3.5% at $27.35 a
barrel after Saudi Arabia and Russia delayed a meeting to
discuss output cuts that could help to reduce global oversupply.
            
    At 9:01 a.m. (1301 GMT), the Canadian dollar          was
trading 0.4% higher at 1.4138 to the greenback, or 70.73 U.S.
cents. The currency traded in a range of 1.4081 to 1.4261.
    Speculators have cut their bearish bets on the Canadian
dollar, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
showed on Friday. As of March 31, net short positions had fallen
to 21,929 contracts from 29,245 in the prior week.
    The Bank of Canada is due to release the spring issue of the
Business Outlook Survey at 10:30 a.m. (1430 GMT). To support
Canada's economy and the financial system during the virus
outbreak, the central bank has slashed interest rates to 0.25%,
embraced quantitative easing for the first time, buying
government bonds in large quantities, and introduced a gamut of
liquidity measures.
    Those liquidity measures could be helping, with the
one-month rate for bankers' acceptances, a key funding market,
falling on Monday for the seventh straight day to 1.13%.    
    Still, the number of people killed by the coronavirus in
Canada jumped by just over 20% to 258 in a day, officials said
on Sunday, while Ottawa offered full-time jobs to reservists in
the armed forces.                 
    Canadian government bond yields rose across the curve in
sympathy with U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year was up 2.4 basis
points at 0.737%.

 (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)