* C$ at C$0.9879 vs US$, or $1.0122
* Canadian inflation data eyed for clues on rates
* Currency set for 0.8 pct decline on week
By Alastair Sharp
TORONTO, Oct 19 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar weakened
further versus the U.S. currency as disappointing U.S.
corporate earnings cast a pall over the market and traders
awaited Canadian inflation data.
At 8:00 a.m. (1200 GMT) the Canadian dollar was
trading at C$0.9879 to the greenback, or $1.0122, compared with
C$0.9849, or $1.0153, at Thursday's North American close.
The currency had slid the previous day, succumbing to a host
of negative factors, and continued in that vein in early trade.
Canadian inflation data due out at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT) is
expected to provide clues to whether the Bank of Canada plans to
drop a hawkish bias on interest rates in its policy announcement
next week.
"There is a lot of focus and interest on this number," said
Mazen Issa, macro strategist at TD Securities, adding that a
soft number could produce further Canadian dollar weakness.
"There is still some more to run."
The currency has fallen 0.8 percent so far this week, after
the central bank's governor gave a speech on Monday in which he
did not talk about raising interest rates.
A Reuters poll released on Thursday suggested the central
bank will postpone interest rate hikes until the fourth quarter
of next year and will likely water down rather than eliminate
its hawkish language.
Major tech corporates Microsoft and Google
issued lacklustre earnings on Thursday, while General Electric's
revenue fell short of expectations early on Friday.