* C$ slips to $1.0170 vs US$, or 98.33 U.S. cents
* Currency touches session low and high after data
* Bond prices creep higher across curve
By Jennifer Kwan
TORONTO, July 6 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar stumbled
against the U.S. currency on Friday after jobs reports on both
sides of the border showed sluggish growth in the labor market
in June.
Canada's job growth slowed in June for a second straight
month, in a reality check after outsized employment gains
earlier this year and as business confidence worsens due to the
European debt crisis and the stalled U.S. economy.
"After gaining a lot of jobs in March and April, we're
looking at a slightly subdued pace of hiring," said David Tulk,
chief Canada macro strategist at TD Securities.
"I think this does speak to some residual momentum in the
Canadian economy but perhaps a little bit more caution on the
part of firms looking at some of the international headwinds and
maybe a sense of domestic fatigue."
Data also showed U.S. employers hired at a dismal pace in
June, raising pressure on the Federal Reserve to do more to
boost the economy and further imperiling President Barack
Obama's chances of reelection in November.
"It is causing a very modest rally in the U.S. (dollar) or a
selloff in the Canadian dollar," said Blake Jespersen, a
managing director of foreign exchange sales at BMO Capital
Markets.
"Clearly the labor market is not performing as Obama would
like, and as the U.S. economy needs to really grow, so that is
certainly a concern. You combine that with the slowing in China
and the problems in Europe, and certainly it does not bode well
for risk appetite in the short term."
At around 9:00 a.m. (1300 GMT), the Canadian currency was at
C$1.0170 versus the U.S. dollar, or 98.33 U.S. cents, weaker
than around C$1.0151 just before the data's release.
Immediately after the data's release the Canadian dollar
swung to a session high and low as traders digested the twin
reports.
Meanwhile, investors remained unimpressed after a trio of
major central banks loosened monetary policy in the previous
session. Spanish 10-year government bond yields extended their
rise past 7 percent on Friday, a level which is not a
sustainable borrowing rate indefinitely.
Canadian bond prices edged up across the curve. Canada's
two-year government bond rose 7 Canadian cents to
yield 0.995 percent, while the benchmark 10-year bond
added 29 Canadian cents to yield 1.691 percent.