* Canadian dollar at C$1.3084 or 76.43 U.S. cents
* Bond prices mostly lower across the maturity curve
TORONTO, Aug 18 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar was little
changed against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday as crude prices
held steady and investors paused ahead of domestic economic data
due at the end of the week.
Oil prices stayed near 6-1/2 year lows, and lacking other
drivers on Tuesday, the Canadian dollar was expected to take
direction from the commodity, a major Canadian export.
Minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's most recent policy
meeting were due for release on Wednesday, and market
participants will be looking for clues on how soon the central
bank will raise interest rates. Many expect a move this year,
possibly as early as September.
* At 9:12 a.m. EDT (1312 GMT), the Canadian dollar
was at C$1.3084 to the greenback, or 76.43 U.S. cents,
essentially flat with the Bank of Canada's official close of
C$1.3085, or 76.42 U.S. cents, on Monday.
* The currency was range-bound, trading between C$1.3079 and
C$1.3126 in the session.
* Investors awaited Canadian inflation and retail sales data
on Friday.
* U.S. crude prices were up 0.48 percent at $42.07 a
barrel, while Brent crude declined 0.21 percent to
$48.64. O/R
* The Canadian dollar, which was stronger than many of its
key currency counterparts, is expected to trade between C$1.3080
and C$1.3150 against the U.S. dollar during Tuesday's North
American session, according to RBC Capital Markets.
* Canadian government bond prices were mostly lower across
the maturity curve, with the two-year CA2YT=RR down 1.5
Canadian cents to yield 0.414 percent and the benchmark 10-year
CA10YT=RR falling 28 Canadian cents to yield 1.401 percent.
* The Canada-U.S. two-year bond spread was -31.20 basis
points, while the 10-year spread was -78.1 basis points.