* Canadian dollar rises 0.1% against the greenback
* Canadian nonfarm payroll jobs rise 31,700 in February
* Price of U.S. oil falls 1%
* Canadian bond prices fall across much of the yield curve
By Fergal Smith
TORONTO, April 25 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, posting a modest gain despite a drop in oil prices and a more dovish stance from the Bank of Canada the day before.
At 4:08 p.m. ET (2008 GMT), the Canadian dollar CAD=D4 was trading 0.1% higher at 1.3485 to the greenback, or 74.16 U.S. cents.
The currency, which hit a nearly four-month low on Wednesday at 1.3522, traded in a range of 1.3484 to 1.3517. For the week, it is down 0.7%.
"Most of the decline this week is pure U.S. dollar strength," said Adam Button, chief currency analyst at ForexLive. "In the big picture the Canadian dollar is holding up well and today it is holding up well despite a drop in oil."
The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, fell as investors second-guessed the market's ability to rally further. U.S. crude oil futures CLc1 , which notched a nearly six-month high on Tuesday, settled 1% lower at $65.21 a barrel. Bank of Canada held its benchmark interest rate steady at 1.75% on Wednesday as expected and removed wording about the need for future rate hikes. The central bank lowered its growth forecast for 2019 to 1.2% from 1.7% but it saw an upside risk from stronger growth in the United States. positive spillovers from the U.S. will start to emerge for the Canadian economy and the Canadian dollar," Button said.
Data showing new orders for U.S.-made capital goods increased by the most in eight months in March helped support the U.S. dollar .DXY , which notched its highest level in about two years against a basket of major currencies. number of Canadian nonfarm payroll employees rose by 31,700 in February from January, while average weekly earnings slowed on an annual basis to 1.1% from 1.9%, data from Statistics Canada showed.
Canadian government bond prices were lower across much of the yield curve, with the two-year CA2YT=RR down 7 Canadian cents to yield 1.550% and the 10-year CA10YT=RR falling 27 Canadian cents to yield 1.704%.
On Wednesday, the 10-year yield hit its lowest intraday since April 2 at 1.649%.