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Canadian dollar falls 0.1% against the greenback

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Trades in a range of 1.3878 to 1.3919

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Price of oil decreases 4.9%

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10-year yield hits a near six-week low

By Fergal Smith

TORONTO, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar weakened

slightly against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday ‌as oil prices

tumbled and investors weighed downbeat domestic economic data.

The loonie was trading 0.1% lower ​at 1.3895 per U.S.

dollar, or 71.97 U.S. cents, after moving in ‍a range of 1.3878

to 1.3919. On Friday, the ⁠currency touched a ⁠five-week low at

1.3920.

The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, fell

4.9% to $58.97 a ‌barrel as concerns eased over U.S. ​military

action against Iran and potential oil supply disruptions.

The magnitude of oil's drop is "going to hurt Canada's

export values pretty quickly," ⁠said Darren Richardson, chief

operating officer ‍at Richardson ​International Currency Exchange

Inc, adding that soft economic data had contributed to the

loonie's recent declines.

Canadian home sales fell 2.7% in December from ‍November,

while they were down 4.5% year-over-year without seasonal

adjustment. Separate data for November showed wholesale trade

and factory sales down 1.8% and 1.2% respectively.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who is on a four-day

visit to China, has vowed to reduce the economy's reliance on

exports to the U.S. ​market. ‍On Thursday, he hailed Canada's

improving ties with China as well as the leadership of President

Xi Jinping.

"There is still a lot ​of work that needs to be done before

any celebrations can be had for any trade deals with China,"

Richardson said.

The U.S. dollar rose against a basket of major

currencies and U.S. Treasury yields climbed after data showed

that the number of Americans filing new applications for

unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, further

boosting expectations ​the Federal Reserve will keep rates on

hold for the next several months.

Canadian yields moved in the other direction. The 10-year

was down 2.5 basis points at 3.343%, trading at ‍its

lowest level since December 5.