* Canadian dollar gains 0.2% against the greenback

* Touches its strongest since March 13 at 1.3650

* Price of oil settles 11.45% lower

* Bond yields rise fall the curve

By Fergal Smith

TORONTO, April 17 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar

strengthened to a one-month high against its U.S. counterpart on

Friday as investors globally celebrated Iran's move to open the

Strait of Hormuz.

The loonie was trading 0.2% higher at 1.3675 per

U.S. dollar, or 73.13 U.S. cents, after touching its strongest

intraday level since March 13 at 1.3650. For the week, the

loonie was up 1.2%, marking its biggest weekly advance since

January.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the Strait of Hormuz

was open following a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, while U.S.

President Donald Trump said talks could take place this weekend

and he believed a deal to end the Iran war would come "soon".

The conflict effectively shut the waterway through which a

fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas usually

transits.

"The market is acting like it's woken up from a bad dream,"

said Adam Button, chief currency analyst at investingLive.

"You'd imagine coming out of this everyone is going to want

to build larger (oil) inventories. That should be a tailwind for

the Canadian dollar."

Canada is a major producer of energy products, including

oil.

U.S. crude oil futures settled 11.45% lower at $83.85

a barrel and the U.S. dollar added to its recent declines

against a basket of major currencies.

Domestic data showed a surprise decline in March housing starts,

falling 6% from the previous month.

The Canadian consumer price index report, due on Monday, is

expected to show inflation picking up to 2.5% in March from 1.8%

in February.

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said inflation will

rise in the short term and that an uptick in near-term inflation

expectations would not worry the central bank.

Investors expect the central bank to raise interest rates

once this year, after pricing in as many as three hikes at one

point in March.

Canadian bond yields moved lower across the curve, tracking

moves in U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year was down 5.5

basis points at 3.448%.