* Canadian dollar rises 1.7% against the greenback
* Canadian retail sales rise 0.4% in February
* The loonie was on track to fall 3.3% for the week
* Canadian bond yields fall across a flatter curve
TORONTO, March 20 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar
strengthened by the most in four years against its U.S.
counterpart on Friday as risk aversion eased and oil held onto
much of the previous day's rally, but the loonie was set to fall
by more than 3% for the week.
The U.S. dollar pulled back against a basket of major
currencies and stocks globally rose for a second
straight session, as a wave of fiscal and monetary stimulus
tempted investors back into equity markets after days of selling
on signs the world was headed into a deep, coronavirus-driven
recession.
U.S. crude oil futures were down 2.85% at $24.50 a
barrel. Oil rose 24% on Thursday, helped by hopes that the
United States would intervene in the price war between Saudi
Arabia and Russia.
At 9:02 a.m. (1302 GMT), the Canadian dollar was
trading 1.7% higher at 1.4268 to the greenback, or 70.09 U.S.
cents, its biggest advance since March 2016. The currency, which
on Thursday hit a four-year low at 1.4669, traded in a range of
1.4150 to 1.4538.
For the week, the loonie was on track to decline 3.3%, which
would be its biggest decline since January 2015.
Canadian retail sales grew by 0.4% in January from December
at C$51.97 billion on higher sales at motor vehicle and parts
dealers and gasoline stations, Statistics Canada said. Analysts
had forecast a 0.3% increase.
Canadian bond yields fell across a flatter yield curve in
sympathy with U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year yield was
down 10.5 basis points at 0.893%.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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