* Canadian dollar strengthens 0.2% against the greenback
* Trades in a range of 1.4156 to 1.4210
* Price of oil increases 5.2%
* Bond yields move higher across the curve
By Fergal Smith
TORONTO, July 8 (Reuters) - The commodity-linked Canadian
dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday as
oil prices jumped and investors raised bets on a Bank of Canada
interest rate hike this year.
The loonie was trading 0.2% higher at 1.4170 per U.S.
dollar, or 70.57 U.S. cents, after moving in a range of 1.4156
to 1.4210.
"The CAD has performed relatively well through the overnight
volatility," Shaun Osborne and Eric Theoret, strategists at
Scotiabank, said in a note. "Negative CAD sentiment is
moderating but spot remains quite elevated."
The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, rose
5.2% to $74.10 a barrel after U.S. President Donald Trump said
an interim agreement to end the war with Iran was "over" and
that the United States was likely to launch new strikes on
Wednesday night.
Stock markets globally fell as the jump in oil prices stoked
worries about the inflation outlook and the prospect of tighter
monetary policy.
Investors see a roughly 60% chance the BoC will raise
interest rates this year, up from 40% on Tuesday, swap market
data showed..
In the options market, three-month USD-CAD risk reversals
were trading at an implied volatility of 0.14
percentage points in favor of calls over puts, marking the
lowest premium for the greenback since June 3.
"The declining premium for USD calls suggests markets have
taken the early July USMCA developments in their stride and
might point to some modest upside potential in the CAD," the
strategists said.
Last week, the U.S. declined to extend the United
States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, seeking changes to the trade
deal.
Canadian bond yields moved higher across the curve. The
10-year was up as much as 9.5 basis points at
3.590%, its highest level since May 21.