TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, unable to add to this week's gains as domestic data showed a bigger-than-expected drop in wholesale trade.
Canadian wholesale trade declined by 1.1% in October from September on weaker sales in the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector, as well as agricultural supplies, Statistics Canada said. Analysts had forecast a 0.1% decrease.
Separate data from payroll services provider ADP (NASDAQ:ADP) showed that Canada added 30,900 jobs in November, the fifth straight month of gains.
Canada's retail sales report for October is due on Friday and could help guide expectations for the Bank of Canada interest rate outlook.
At 10:02 a.m. (1502 GMT), the Canadian dollar was trading nearly unchanged at 1.3113 to the greenback, or 76.26 U.S. cents. The currency, which notched on Wednesday a seven-week high at 1.3103, traded in a range of 1.3108 to 1.3126.
For the week, the loonie was up 0.4%, boosted by data showing a pick-up in Canadian underlying inflation and a trade deal between the United States and China.
Canada is a major producer of commodities, so its economy could benefit from an improved outlook for global trade.
U.S. crude oil futures (CLc1) held near a three-month high, buoyed by falling U.S. crude inventories and thawing U.S.-China trade relations.
Canadian government bond prices edged lower across the yield curve, with the 10-year (CA10YT=RR) falling 12 Canadian cents to yield 1.705%. The 10-year yield touched its highest intraday level since May 22 at 1.736%.