* Canadian dollar at C$1.0909 or 91.67 U.S. cents
* Bond prices higher across the maturity curve
By Leah Schnurr
TORONTO, Aug 1 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar was little
changed against the greenback on Friday, recovering from earlier
declines after a weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report, though
the loonie was still on track to see its worst week since June.
The loonie is down 0.8 percent for the week so far, and has
declined in four out of five sessions, extending a selloff that
started last Friday.
The Canadian dollar touched an eight-week low in early
morning trading, but managed to recoup much of the loss after
data showed the U.S. economy added 209,000 jobs in July, a
slower pace of jobs growth than the month before, while the
unemployment rate rose to 6.2 percent from 6.1 percent.
"It's definitely taken some of the heat off the U.S. dollar
and helped the loonie out this morning," said Scott Smith,
senior market analyst at Cambridge Mercantile Group in Calgary.
Optimism that the U.S. recovery is picking up steam has sent
investors running toward the greenback, one of the main reasons
for the Canadian dollar's decline this week.
The Canadian dollar was at C$1.0909 to the
greenback, or 91.67 U.S. cents, slightly weaker than Thursday's
close of C$1.0904, or 91.71 U.S. cents.
Analysts expect the loonie still has further to fall, with
many expecting to see it at the C$1.10 level in the near term.
The recent declines have marked a reversal from a Canadian
dollar rally that stretched through much of June.
"One of the patterns of U.S. dollar-Canadian dollar over the
last few years has been the loonie will, for a period of time,
manage to grind out some pretty good gains," Smith said. "And
when it flips around, and we start looking at the U.S. data, it
seems like when the U.S. dollar gains strength, it does so in a
rapid manner,"
Canadian government bond prices were higher across the
maturity curve, with the two-year up 1-1/2 Canadian
cents to yield 1.089 percent and the benchmark 10-year
up 3 Canadian cents to yield 2.159 percent.
(Editing by Peter Galloway)