(Adds comment, details, closing figures)
* Canadian dollar at C$1.1440, or 87.41 U.S. cents
* Bond prices higher across maturity curve
By Solarina Ho
TORONTO, Nov 28 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar retreated
more than a cent against its U.S. counterpart on Friday,
touching a three-week low, as tumbling U.S. crude prices
overshadowed higher-than-expected third-quarter Canadian growth
figures.
U.S. crude prices plunged 10 percent in their biggest
one-day drop in over five years following OPEC's decision to
keep current production levels unchanged, a move market
participants said would leave oil markets oversupplied.
"The market should've been prepared for that actual outcome,
but we had that selloff (Thursday) ... Coming in today, it was
just a continuation," said Don Mikolich, executive director of
foreign exchange sales at CIBC World Markets. "The Canadian
dollar is lost now in the oil story."
In Canada, strong exports, business investment and consumer
spending helped lift the economy by an annualized 2.8 percent in
the third quarter, eclipsing the 2.1 percent forecast by the
market.
"Certainly this report on its own would provide a lift for
the Canadian dollar ... however, the currency has been buffeted
in recent days by the weakening in oil prices," said Paul
Ferley, assistant chief economist at Royal Bank of Canada.
"Oil prices will probably be the more dominant factor."
The Canadian dollar finished Friday's session at
C$1.1440 against the greenback, or 87.41 U.S. cents, sharply
weaker than Thursday's close at C$1.1332, or 88.25 U.S. cents.
The currency weakened some 1.7 percent against the U.S. dollar
for the week.
Next week, investors will be turning their focus to the Bank
of Canada's latest monetary policy decision and employment data
from both Canada and the United States.
Mikolich said falling oil prices will likely mean the Bank
of Canada will remain more dovish, despite the recent economic
data.
Canadian government bond prices were higher across the
maturity curve, with the two-year rising 16.2
Canadian cents to yield 0.949 percent and the benchmark 10-year
climbing 47 Canadian cents to yield 1.846 percent.
(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and G Crosse)