Canadian dollar steadies after mixed retail sales data

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Loonie trades in a range of 1.3756 to ‍1.3801.

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For the week, the loonie was little changed

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Retail sales fall 0.2% in October

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Bond yields rise across a steeper curve

By Fergal Smith

TORONTO, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar steadied against its U.S. counterpart on Friday as the price of oil clawed back some recent declines and domestic data pointed to sluggish household spending.

Canadian retail sales declined by 0.2% ⁠month-over-month in October, after declining 0.9% in ⁠September, on lower sales at food and beverage retailers. Economists had expected ⁠a flat reading.

A preliminary estimate for November was more upbeat, showing sales rebounding by 1.2%.

"Overall, today’s figures suggest that household spending has remained ‍relatively ‌stagnant thus far in the fourth quarter, despite some monthly volatility," Tiago Figueiredo, a macro strategist at ​Desjardins, said in a note.

"While the Bank of Canada is keeping a close eye on the weak trend in consumption, these numbers aren’t soft enough to have central bankers move off the sidelines." Earlier this month, the Bank of Canada signaled a potential end to its easing campaign as it cut the benchmark interest rate to a three-year low of 2.25%.

The loonie was trading nearly unchanged at ​1.3775 ⁠per U.S. dollar, or 72.60 U.S. cents, after moving in a range of 1.3756 to 1.3801.

For the week, the ⁠currency was also little changed after domestic data showed inflation running at ‌a cooler than expected pace. It follows three straight weekly gains. The U.S. dollar rose against a basket of major currencies as the yen weakened sharply. ​The Bank of Japan raised interest rates to a 30-year high but did not offer clarity on future hikes. The price of oil, one of Canada's major ‍exports, was up 1.2% at $56.80 ‍a barrel ⁠as the market waited for news about a possible Russia-Ukraine peace deal.

Canadian bond yields rose across a steeper curve, tracking moves in other sovereign debt markets after the BoJ's policy move. The 10-year was up 3.7 basis points at 3.481%. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Kirsten ‌Donovan)