* Canadian dollar rises 0.3 percent against greenback
* Price of U.S. oil rises 0.4 percent
* Canadian bond prices trade mixed across flatter yield curve
TORONTO, Nov 5 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, as oil prices rose and Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz pushed back against critics who complain that economic forecasts from the central bank are too optimistic.
Market volatility, a stronger U.S. dollar and higher yields for long-term bonds are signs that markets are becoming more normal, rather than an indication of trouble, Poloz said in a speech to a business audience in London. on Friday showed the Canadian economy added jobs in October and the unemployment rate dipped to a 40-year low, underpinning expectations that the central bank would keep raising interest rates. Canada's productivity and credit growth face a threat from a flattening yield curve that makes it less appealing to invest in long-term projects, lesser still if the Bank of Canada meets its goal of a 3 percent interest rate. price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, rose as U.S. sanctions against Iran's fuel exports began. U.S. crude CLc1 prices were up 0.4 percent at $63.42 a barrel. 9:08 a.m. (1408 GMT), the Canadian dollar CAD=D4 was trading 0.3 percent higher at 1.3076 to the greenback, or 76.48 U.S. cents. The currency traded in a narrow range of 1.3078 to 1.3112.
Speculators have raised bearish bets on the Canadian dollar for the first time in six weeks, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Reuters calculations showed on Friday. As of Oct. 30, net short positions had increased to 9,655 contracts from 7,228 a week earlier. U.S. dollar .DXY was little changed ahead of crucial U.S. midterm elections and a Federal Reserve meeting this week. government bond prices were mixed across a flatter yield curve, with the two-year CA2YT=RR flat to yield 2.35 percent and the 10-year CA10YT=RR rising 6 Canadian cents to yield 2.527 percent.