Loonie trades near flat as BoC rate decision looms next week

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart on Friday, extending its recent holding pattern as the greenback broadly rose and investors awaited an interest rate decision next week from the Bank of Canada.

The central bank is expected to leave its benchmark interest rate on hold at 1.75% next Wednesday, when it will also update its economic outlook.

A revival in the Canadian economy may already be under way, according to a Reuters poll of economists, who were mostly confident a rate cut was not needed and so predicted monetary policy would remain unchanged this year.

The U.S. dollar <.DXY> gained ground against a basket of major currencies, supported by data on Wednesday showing an encouraging rise in U.S. retail sales data.

At 9:16 a.m. (1416 GMT), the Canadian dollar <CAD=D4> was trading nearly unchanged at 1.3044 to the greenback, or 76.66 U.S. cents. The currency, which has been in a sideways trading pattern since hitting a near two-week low last Thursday at 1.3104, traded in a range of 1.3034 to 1.3058.

For the week, the loonie was also little changed.

Global stocks <.WORLD> and the price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, rose. They were buoyed by the signing this week of a trade deal between the United States and China, while data on Friday showed that China ended 2019 on a somewhat firmer note.

U.S. crude oil futures <CLc1> were up 0.4% at $58.74 a barrel.

Foreign investors sold a net C$1.75 billion in Canadian securities in November, led by private corporate instruments, following a revised C$11.32 billion total purchase in October, Statistics Canada said.

Canadian government bond prices were lower across the yield curve, with the 10-year <CA10YT=RR> falling 12 Canadian cents to yield 1.567%.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Nick Zieminski)