* Canadian dollar rises 0.5% against the greenback
* Loonie touches its weakest level since April 23 at 1.4173
* Price of U.S. oil increases 11.2%
* Canadian bond yields fall across a flatter curve
TORONTO, May 7 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday as oil rallied and data showing an unexpected increase in Chinese exports raised hopes for the global economy, with the loonie rebounding from an earlier two-week low.
World shares .WORLD rose as the Chinese data stoked speculation China could recover from its coronavirus lockdown quicker than first thought and support global growth in the process. runs a current account deficit and is a major exporter of commodities, including oil, so the loonie tends to be sensitive to the global flow of trade and capital.
U.S. crude CLc1 prices were up 11.2% at $26.68 a barrel, boosted by the news on China's exports, as well as U.S. output cuts and the slow return of activity in Europe. 9:09 a.m. (1309 GMT), the Canadian dollar CAD=D4 was trading 0.5% higher at 1.4077 to the greenback, or 71.04 U.S. cents.
The loonie earlier touched its weakest intraday level since April 23 at 1.4173. Since the start of the year the currency has fallen nearly 8%.
The Canadian dollar will regain some lost ground over the coming year along with a potential recovery in the price of oil and in the global economy after it was crippled by the coronavirus pandemic, a Reuters poll showed. jobs report for April is due on Friday and is expected to show Canadian employment plunged by four million in April on top of the one million jobs the economy shed in March.
Canadian bond yields eased across a flatter curve on Thursday. The 10-year yield CA10YT=RR fell 1.7 basis points to 0.597%.