CANADA FX DEBT-Canadian dollar holds near eight-day low as U.S. tariff uncertainty weighs

By Fergal Smith

TORONTO, July 8 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday but was holding near an earlier eight-day low as the prospect of additional U.S. tariffs kept risk appetite in check.

The loonie CAD= was trading 0.1% higher at 1.3675 per U.S. dollar, or 73.13 U.S. cents, after touching its weakest intraday level since June 30 at 1.3694.

"There's a little bit of steam (coming) out of the loonie, primarily driven by risk aversion as these tariffs have basically come back to the forefront," said Rahim Madhavji, president at KnightsbridgeFX.com.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he will announce a 50% tariff on imported copper on Tuesday, an effort to boost U.S. production of a metal critical to electric vehicles, military hardware, the power grid and many consumer goods. Canada is a major producer of copper and other commodities such as oil.

Canada has already been hit with hefty U.S. tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum but has escaped sweeping U.S. duties imposed in April. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Trump have agreed to reach some form of a trade deal by July 21.

The price of oil CLc1 rose 0.8% to $68.45 a barrel as investors assessed the latest developments on U.S. tariffs and a higher than expected increase to OPEC+ output for August.

Canadian economic activity expanded in June at the fastest pace in four months and price increases accelerated, Ivey Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data showed. The seasonally adjusted index rose to 53.3 last month from 48.9 in May, posting its highest level since February.

Canadian bond yields moved higher across a steeper curve, tracking moves in U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year CA10YT=RR was up 2.8 basis points at 3.430%, after earlier touching its highest level since January 16 at 3.452%.