The Canadian dollar strengthened against the greenback on Thursday, and the yield on benchmark government debt slipped. The loonie was trading 0.1% higher at C$1.3685 to the greenback, or 73.07 U.S. cents, after trading in a range of 1.3677 to 1.3712. Canadian government 10-year bond yields fell 0.6 basis points to 3.484%. The yield on similar U.S. government benchmark debt fell to 4.302%. U.S. August crude futures rose 69 cents to $81.59 a barrel on Thursday.