* Canadian dollar at C$1.2905, or 77.49 U.S. cents
* Bond prices lower across the maturity curve
TORONTO, July 15 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar gained against a string of major currencies but paused versus a rising U.S. dollar on Friday, as reassuring Chinese data helped sentiment while concerns about a global oil supply glut weighed on the commodity-linked currency.
The pause in the currency against the greenback comes after it hit a nine-day high in the wake of the Bank of Canada's somewhat optimistic update, which lengthened the odds of an interest-rate cut this year. factory sales fell more than expected in May, sliding 1.0 percent from April on weakness in motor vehicles and some energy products, data from Statistics Canada showed. U.S. retail sales for June came in much stronger than expected, and China's economic expansion in the second quarter slightly exceeded expectations. 9:27 a.m. EDT (1327 GMT), the Canadian dollar CAD=D4 was trading at C$1.2905 to the greenback, or 77.49 U.S. cents, slightly weaker than the Bank of Canada's official Thursday close of C$1.2898, or 77.43 U.S. cents.
The Canadian currency's strongest level of the session was C$1.2861, while the weakest was C$1.2922.
The currency was outperforming the yen, euro and sterling as well as the Australian and New Zealand dollars.
Crude futures dipped toward $47 a barrel on concerns that a persistent global glut of crude oil and refined products would impede any further price recovery. O/R
Britain's new prime minister said she would not trigger formal divorce talks with the European Union until there is a national consensus on the best approach. government bond prices were lower across the maturity curve, with the two-year CA2YT=RR down 4.5 Canadian cents to yield 0.569 percent and the benchmark 10-year CA10YT=RR falling 37 Canadian cents to yield 1.097 percent.
The Canada-U.S. two-year bond spread was -13.3 basis points, while the 10-year spread was -47.1 basis points.