Canadian Bonds Slightly Higher, But End Week on Down Note

       By David George-Cosh 

    TORONTO--Canadian bonds were slightly higher Friday, recovering some losses during a week that saw the safe-haven asset sold off by investors looking to take advantage of a rally in equities.

    Canada's two-year bond yield is at 1.149% Friday, from 1.154% Thursday, according to electronic trading platform CanDeal. The 10-year bond yielded 2.450%, from 2.464%. Bond yields move inversely to prices.

    There were no major economic releases out of Canada on Friday to help influence the bond market, despite a strong reading from the University of Michigan's U.S. consumer-confidence index for July.

    The quiet market theme will continue for the next week with only the release of May's gross domestic product in Canada and a U.S. nonfarm payrolls report as the main highlights.

    Bond investors will also be watching a slew of central bank meetings, with the U.S. Federal Reserve, Bank of England and European Central Bank all expected to announce their policy rate decisions during the week.

            Coupon   Matures   Price     Direction  Yield (Fri vs Thu) 
            1.00s    2015     100.693    up 0.006   1.149% vs 1.154% 
            1.25s    2018      97.898    up 0.075   1.728% vs 1.746% 
            1.50s    2023      91.736    up 0.116   2.450% vs 2.464% 
            4.00s    2041     119.641    up 0.212   2.959% vs 2.969% 
            2-year yield spread vs U.S., in basis points: +80.0 vs +81.1 
           10-Year yield spread vs U.S., in basis points:  -11.4 vs -11.0 

    Write to David George-Cosh at