Canadian dollar steadies near two-week low as oil rebounds

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday as oil rallied, with the currency steadying after it hit its lowest level in nearly two weeks earlier in the session.

Oil, one of Canada's major exports, clawed back some of its recent decline after a ship ran aground in the Suez Canal raising supply concerns.

U.S. crude prices were up 2.5% to $59.21 a barrel, while the Canadian dollar was trading nearly unchanged at 1.2579 to the greenback, or 79.50 U.S. cents. The currency touched its weakest since March 11 at 1.2608.

Canadian manufacturing sales in February likely dropped 1.0% as spending on the transportation equipment industry declined, Statistics Canada said in a flash estimate.

The Bank of Canada is seeing evidence of investor activity in some Canadian housing markets and is concerned that "fear of missing out" may also be driving price gains, Deputy Governor Toni Gravelle told Reuters on Tuesday.

Canadian government bond yields were little changed across the curve, with the 10-year trading at about 1.490%. It has pulled back from a 14-month high last Thursday at 1.677%.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)