The Canadian dollar weakened against the greenback on Thursday, and the yield on benchmark government debt slipped. The loonie was trading 0.3% lower at C$1.438 to the greenback, or 69.54 U.S. cents, after trading in a range of 1.4323 to 1.4393. Canadian government 10-year bond yields fell 0.1 basis points to 3.418%. The yield on similar U.S. government benchmark debt rose to 4.6695%. U.S. February crude futures fell 14 cents to $79.9 a barrel on Thursday. Canadian housing starts in Decemberfell more than expected to 231,500 units from a revised 267,100 units the previous month, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) said. A survey of 10 economists polled by Reuters had forecast December housing starts falling to 245,000 units.