* C$ at C$1.0456 vs US$, or 95.64 U.S. cents
* Touches C$1.0488; weakest level since December 2011
* Canada CPI rises 0.7 percent in May, below expectations
* Bond prices mixed; 10-year yield holds near 2011 highs
By Solarina Ho
TORONTO, June 21 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar dropped
more than a cent on Friday to hit its weakest level against the
greenback since December 2011 after Canadian inflation data for
May came in below expectations.
A jump in natural gas prices nudged Canada's annual
inflation rate to 0.7 percent in May from a 3-1/2-year low of
0.4 percent in April, but the rate remained well below the
central bank's 2 percent target, confirming there is little
pressure to raise interest rates soon. The market forecast was
for 0.9 percent annual inflation in May.
"It was slightly weaker on CPI, but not too much outside
expectations, we've been living with weak CPI numbers for a
while ... At some point the Bank of Canada is going to have to
address the weakness in CPI," said Mark Chandler, head of fixed
income and currency strategy at RBC Capital.
Overnight index swaps, which trade based on expectations for
the central bank's key policy rate, fell after the data, with
some investors betting a Bank of Canada rate hike will now come
later than previously expected.
At 9:12 a.m. (1312 GMT), the Canadian dollar was
trading at C$1.0456 versus the U.S. dollar, or 95.64 U.S. cents.
Earlier, it sank as low as C$1.0488, or 95.35 U.S. cents, a drop
of nearly a cent from its level just before the CPI figures were
released. It was also well off Thursday's finish of C$1.0373, or
96.40 U.S. cents.
The Canadian dollar, which was the weakest performer among
major currencies, has lost some 2.5 percent since U.S. Federal
Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday that the U.S.
economy was growing strongly enough for it to begin slowing the
pace of its bond-buying stimulus program later this year.
"We'd always looked for the currency to be at C$1.05 or so
by the end of the summer, and to be fair this most recent push
really wasn't related too much on the Canada side, more
obviously on U.S. dollar strength," Chandler said. "Today we're
plumbing the depths of the league tables if you like ... and
today's data was a factor."
Separately, the value of Canadian retail sales for April
also missed forecasts, inching up 0.1 percent from March, though
economists noted that volumes showed strength.
Canada's two-year bond was up 2 Canadian cents to
yield 1.181 percent, while the benchmark 10-year bond
dipped 3 Canadian cents to yield 2.333 percent,
holding near highs not seen since late in 2011.