CANADA FX DEBT - Canadian dollar strengthens, benchmark yield climbs

The Canadian dollar strengthened against the greenback on Friday, and the yield on benchmark government debt climbed.

The loonie CAD= was trading 0.2% higher at C$1.4409 to the greenback, or 69.4 U.S. cents, after trading in a range of 1.4406 to 1.4447.

Canadian government 10-year bond yields CA10YT=RR rose 3.1 basis points to 3.082%. The yield on similar U.S. government benchmark debt rose to 4.3121%.

U.S. April crude CLc1 futures rose 57 cents to $67.12 a barrel on Friday.

Canadian factory sales rose 1.7% in January from the previous month, Statistics Canada said. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected factory sales growth of 2.0%.