* Canadian dollar rises 0.1% against the greenback
* Canadian nonfarm payroll jobs rise 31,700 in February
* Price of U.S. oil falls 0.2%
* Canadian bond prices gain across the yield curve
TORONTO, April 25 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday but held near its lowest since January as oil prices dipped and after the Bank of Canada slashed its economic growth outlook the day before.
Canada's central bank held its benchmark interest rate steady at 1.75% on Wednesday as expected but removed wording about the need for future rate hikes and lowered its growth forecast for 2019 to 1.2% from 1.7%. price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, edged lower but held near the highest in about six months as quality concerns forced the suspension of some Russian crude exports to Europe while the United States prepared to tighten sanctions on Iran. crude CLc1 oil futures were down 0.2% at $65.79 a barrel.
At 10:38 a.m. EDT (1438 GMT), the Canadian dollar CAD=D4 was trading 0.1% higher at 1.3488 to the greenback, or 74.14 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.
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 in about two years against a basket of major currencies before turning lower. 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 the yield curve, with the two-year CA2YT=RR down 4 Canadian cents to yield 1.535% and the 10-year CA10YT=RR falling 19 Canadian cents to yield 1.696%.
On Wednesday, the 10-year yield hit its lowest intraday since April 2 at 1.649%.