Loonie trades in a range of 1.2348 to 1.2409 Price of U.S. oil settled 0.2% higher Canadian housing starts fall 4.4% in September Canadian 2 year yield climbs to its highest since March 2020 By Fergal Smith TORONTO, Oct 18 Reuters - The Canadian dollar edged lower against its U.S. counterpart on Monday but held near its highest level in more than three months as U.S. and domestic bonds rose, while a Bank of Canada survey showed that companies are anticipating stronger The loonie was trading 0,1% lower at 1,2377 to the greenback, or 80.80 U.S. cents, after trading in a range of 1.2348 to 1.2409. On Friday, the currency reached its strongest level since July 6 at 1.2334, which was the strongest since 27 June 2015. It has been a bit of a difficult day across several markets and the loonie has been pulled around in a few different directions, said Erik Nelson, a currency strategist at Wells Fargo in New York. For all the big moves in the rates market, FX market was much quieter. The Canadian 2-year yield reached it highest level since March 2020 at 0.866% before dipping to 0.824%, up 5.8 basis points on the day, while the 10-year was down half a basis point at 1.589%. The price of oil one of Canada's major exports was 0.2% higher at $82.44 a barrel but easing off earlier multi-year highs as U.S. industrial output for September fell, tempering early enthusiasm about demand The Bank of Canada's Business Outlook Survey Indicator reached its highest level on record in the third quarter, even as firms called for supply constraints to limit sales and put upward pressure on costs. Separate domestic data showed that housing starts fell in September, 4.4% compared with the previous month. The Canadian inflation report for September is due on Wednesday. Minister Justin Trudeau's new government is expected to increase taxes on Canadians, which will help finance some campaign promises but are not large enough to pay down the country's record levels of debt, analysts say.