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Loonie trades in a range of 1.3557 to 1.3584

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Price of U.S. oil settles 1.7% higher

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Ten-year yield touches its highest level since Feb. 13

By Fergal Smith

TORONTO, April 2 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar was

little changed against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday as higher

commodity prices offset increased investor nervousness about the

timing of interest rate cuts.

The loonie was nearly unchanged at 1.3570 to the U.S.

dollar, or 73.69 U.S. cents, after trading in a range of 1.3557

to 1.3584. It extends the sideways pattern for the USD-CAD

currency pair in recent months.

"I think the market is waiting for a crack in the U.S. or

Canadian economy to dictate the next move in USD-CAD," said Adam

Button, chief currency analyst at ForexLive. "There has been

some broader U.S. dollar strength, but it's mitigated by higher

commodity prices."

Canada is a major producer of commodities, including gold,

which notched a fresh record high, and oil.

U.S. crude oil futures settled 1.7% higher at $85.15

a barrel as oil supplies faced fresh threats from Ukrainian

attacks on Russian energy facilities, while Wall Street's main

indexes dropped as recent strong economic data raised doubts

over the three rate cuts that the Fed has outlined for this

year.

The Bank of Canada is also expected to begin cutting rates

this year but likely not as soon as a policy announcement next

week. Canada's jobs report for March, due on Friday, could offer

clues on the strength of the domestic economy.

Economists forecast a gain of 25,000 jobs.

"We have a series of top-tier data coming up. I expect much

more volatility before the week is out," Button said.

Canadian government bond yields moved higher across the

curve, tracking moves in U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year

was up 3.2 basis points at 3.620%, after earlier

touching its highest level since Feb. 13 at 3.678%.