* Canadian dollar at C$1.2983, or 77.02 U.S. cents
* Bond prices higher across the maturity curve
By Fergal Smith
TORONTO, June 30 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar edged lower
against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday as oil fell and its
economy saw only modest growth after a recent run of losses.
The Canadian economy grew by just 0.1 percent in April from
March, Statistics Canada said. It matched analysts' expectations
after two straight months of declines but cleared the way for a
sickly second quarter on the back of the devastation caused by
major Alberta wildfires.
"It is quite easy to get a 1 to 2 percent contraction in the
second quarter," said Derek Holt, head of capital markets
economics at Scotiabank, which would be a much deeper
contraction than the Bank of Canada has signaled.
The immediate market flurry over Britain's vote to pull out
of the European Union settled but lower oil prices
weighed on the commodity-linked loonie.
U.S. crude CLc1 prices were down 2.31 percent at $48.73 a
barrel, pressured by higher Nigerian output and concern about
the economic outlook following Brexit. O/R
At 9:58 a.m. EDT (1358 GMT), the Canadian dollar CAD=D4
was trading at C$1.2983 to the greenback, or 77.02 U.S. cents,
slightly weaker than Wednesday's close of C$1.2975, or 77.07
U.S. cents.
The currency's strongest level of the session was C$1.2915,
while its weakest was C$1.2996.
Canada, the United States and Mexico on Wednesday mounted a
fierce defense of free trade, vowing to deepen economic ties
despite an increasingly acrimonious debate about the value of
globalization.
Canadian government bond prices were higher across the
maturity curve, with the two-year CA2YT=RR price up 5.8
Canadian cents to yield 0.524 percent and the benchmark 10-year
CA10YT=RR rising 37 Canadian cents to yield 1.089 percent.
Canada's 10-year yield fell 5.8 basis points further below
its U.S. counterpart to leave the spread at -40.6 basis points,
its largest gap since June 24, as Canadian government bonds
outperformed.