TORONTO, Dec 12 (Reuters) – The Canadian dollar weakened to a 4-1/2-year low against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday as the greenback notched broad-based gains and a recent widening in the gap between U.S. and Canadian bond yields weighed on the loonie.

The Canadian currency was trading 0.2% lower at 1.4190 per U.S. dollar, or 70.47 U.S. cents, after touching its weakest since April 2020 at 1.4199.

“The Canadian dollar’s weakness is partly a function of the broad U.S. dollar strength,” said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex LLC.