(Adds analyst quote, details on Bank of Canada speech; updates prices)
* Canadian dollar at C$1.2486, or 80.09 U.S. cents
* Bond prices higher across the yield curve
By Fergal Smith
TORONTO, Oct 3 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, recovering from an earlier one-month low, as a speech by a Bank of Canada policymaker did not offer major clues on the outlook for interest rates.
Canada's economic growth is expected to decline over the next few quarters but continue to exceed the rate of potential output, Deputy Governor Sylvain Leduc said in a speech that added another dovish tone to the bank's message. central bank has raised rates twice since July. But the chances of another hike as soon as this month have dwindled to 20 percent from nearly 40 percent before Governor Stephen Poloz signaled last week that a third hike was not imminent, the overnight index swaps market indicated. BOCWATCH didn't get headline risk out of the Bank of Canada today," said Eric Theoret, a currency strategist at Scotiabank. "It was a very quiet session."
At 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT), the Canadian dollar CAD=D4 was trading at C$1.2486 to the greenback, or 80.09 U.S. cents, up 0.2 percent.
The currency's strongest level of the session was C$1.2481, while it touched its weakest since Aug. 31 at C$1.2539.
Prices of oil, one of Canada's major exports, fell as speculators took profits on some large positions that have built up in the last couple of weeks. crude CLc1 prices settled 0.3 percent lower at $50.42 a barrel.
Canadian government bond prices were higher across the yield curve, with the two-year CA2YT=RR gaining 2 Canadian cents to yield 1.523 percent and the 10-year CA10YT=RR rising 12 Canadian cents to yield 2.113 percent.
Canada's trade data for August is due on Thursday and the September employment report is scheduled for release on Friday.