* U.S. dollar firm across the board * Canadian government bond prices higher By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed NEW YORK, Aug 20 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar edged lower against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, as lingering worries about an economic crisis in Turkey spreading to other emerging market countries provided support to the greenback.
Higher-yielding currencies have taken a beating in recent days as investors reached for the relative safety of the U.S. currency amid worries that the currency crisis in Turkey could roil emerging markets further.
"We still have this Turkey crisis and emerging markets are trading in bear territory, so there is natural attraction to wanting to own the U.S. dollar, and against Canada is no exception," said Dean Popplewell, vice president of market analysis at OANDA, in Toronto.
At 9:31 a.m. EDT (1331 GMT), the Canadian dollar was trading about 0.1 percent lower at C$1.3072 to the greenback. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, was up 0.02 percent on the day.
The loonie rose sharply on Friday following data that showed Canada's annual inflation rate surged to 3.0 percent in July, its highest level in nearly seven years, raising expectations that the Bank of Canada might raise interest rates again as soon as next month.
Investors will be closely watching this week's trade talks between the United States and China, for clues to whether the two countries can resolve an escalating tariff war that threatens to engulf all trade between the world's two largest economies.
Canada exports many commodities and runs a current account deficit, so its economy could be hurt if the flow of trade or capital slows.
Canadian government bond prices were higher on Monday. The yield on the 10-year was at 2.238, down from 2.268, on Friday.
(Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed; editing by Jonathan Oatis)