CANADA FX DEBT-Canadian dollar steadies for second day as oil prices fall

By Fergal Smith

TORONTO, Nov 25 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar steadied for a second straight day against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday as lower oil prices offset broad-based declines for the greenback.

The loonie CAD= was trading nearly unchanged at 1.41 per U.S. dollar, or 70.92 U.S. cents, after moving in a range of 1.4090 to 1.4124. On Friday, the loonie hit a two-week low of 1.4130.

The U.S. dollar .DXY slid as a slew of mixed economic data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month and after a report saying that White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett has emerged as the frontrunner to be the next Fed chair.

"The loonie should be appreciating in line with its counterparts, but that has not been playing out in practice," said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay.

A steeper U.S. yield curve as the Fed's credibility faces scrutiny could be reducing the loonie's ability to capitalize on lower short-term rates, Schamotta said.

Domestic data had little impact, with a preliminary estimate showing that wholesale trade declined 0.1% in October from September.

The price of oil CLc1 fell 1.8% to $57.79 a barrel after Ukraine hinted that an intense diplomatic push by the U.S. administration to end Russia's war against it could be yielding fruit. Oil is one of Canada's major exports, much of which goes to the United States.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has pledged to double the country's non-U.S. exports over the next decade. Canada and India are close to finalizing an export agreement in a deal valued at about US$2.8 billion, the Globe and Mail reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Canadian bond yields moved lower across the curve, tracking moves in U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year CA10YT=RR was down 2.6 basis points at 3.148%, after touching its lowest level since November 12 at 3.130%.