* C$ higher at 94.50 U.S. cents
* Bonds little changed
By Claire Sibonney
TORONTO, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar perked up against the U.S. currency on Friday after stronger-than-expected U.S. GDP data encouraged investments in riskier assets at the expense of the greenback.
U.S. gross domestic product grew faster than initially thought in the fourth quarter as businesses drew down inventories at a much slower pace and boosted investment. [ID:nN25113351] That suggested a more solid footing for the world's largest economy, enticing investors to venture outside the safe haven offered by the U.S. dollar.
The U.S. data offset any negative sentiment on the Canadian dollar stirred up by Friday's data on Canada's current account that showed a wider deficit than market expectations. [ID:nN26257696]
A raft of data from overseas, including stronger-than-expected growth in Britain and industrial output in Japan also helped boost investor appetite for riskier assets. [ID:nLDE61P0ZB][ID:nTOE61O06H]
"The tone of the combined batch of data overnight and the U.S. GDP revisions have put a bit more of a bid toward the risk trades," said Derek Holt, an economist at Scotia Capital.
"(Canada's) current account does not get much market impact and it was expected to show some improvement, which it did, just not as much as expected."
At 9:56 a.m. (1456 GMT) the Canadian dollar was at C$1.0582 or 94.50 U.S. cents, slightly up from Thursday's close at C$1.0593, or 94.40 U.S. cents.
The Canadian dollar slipped to C$1.0606 to the U.S. dollar, or 94.29 U.S. cents right after the domestic and U.S. data were released, from C$1.0580 or 94.52 U.S. cents.
Canadian bond prices were little changed across the curve following the economic data.
The two-year Canadian government bond CA2YT=RR was flat at C$100.420 to yield 1.287 percent, while the 10-year bond CA10YT=RR lost 2 Canadian cents to C$102.750 to yield 3.401 percent.
(Reporting by Claire Sibonney)
