(In paragraph three, corrects quote from Ryan Brecht) * Loonie touches a two-week high at 1.2512 * Canada adds 259,000 jobs in February * Price of U.S. oil falls 0.5% * Canada"s 10-year yield climbs to a 14-month high at 1.552% By Fergal Smith TORONTO, March 12 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar strengthened to a two-week high against its broadly stronger U.S. counterpart on Friday, after domestic jobs data supported the view that the Bank of Canada would reduce its bond purchases as soon as next month. Canada added 259,000 jobs in February, beating estimates of a 75,000 increase, driven by the reopening of businesses as COVID-19 lockdowns put in place in December and January were eased, data from Statistics Canada data showed. "There remains a long way to go before the employment backdrop returns to its pre-pandemic state," said Ryan Brecht, a senior economist at Action Economics. "That being said, another firm jobs report for March would likely boost market expectations of a taper as soon as the April announcement." The central bank is buying C$4 billion of bonds per week to support the economy. On Wednesday, it signaled it would reduce the pace of purchases as it continues to gain confidence in the strength of the recovery. The Canadian dollar was trading 0.1% higher at 1.2513 to the greenback, or 79.92 U.S. cents, having touched its strongest since Feb. 25 at 1.2512. For the week, the loonie was on track to gain 1.1%. The safe-haven U.S. dollar rallied against a basket of major currencies as a fresh spike in U.S. Treasury yields sparked a risk-off move in global currency markets. The price of oil, one of Canada"s major exports, consolidated its recent gains. U.S. crude prices were down 0.5% at $65.70 a barrel. Canadian government bond yields were higher across a steeper curve. The 10-year climbed 10.8 basis points to 1.552%, its highest since January last year. (Reporting by Fergal Smith Editing by Nick Zieminski)