* Canadian dollar at C$1.3366, or 74.82 U.S. cents
* Bond prices lower across the yield curve
TORONTO, Nov 8 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday but traded in a tight range as investors readied for the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.
Cautious expectations of a win for Democrat Hillary Clinton have helped support the loonie at the start of the week after it touched its weakest level since March at C$1.3466 on Friday. A victory for Clinton is seen as less of a threat to Canada's trade-intensive economy.
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has gained on Clinton in recent opinion polls, has said he would renegotiate or scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement if elected.
At 9:16 a.m. EST (1416 GMT), the Canadian dollar CAD=D4 traded at C$1.3366 to the greenback, or 74.82 U.S. cents, slightly stronger than Monday's close of C$1.3372, or 74.78 U.S. cents.
The currency's strongest level of the session was C$1.3351, while its weakest was C$1.3391.
Modest gains for the loonie came despite lower oil prices. U.S. crude CLc1 prices were down 0.85 percent at $44.51 a barrel, pressured by a retreat in U.S. stock index futures and a firmer U.S. dollar. O/R
Canadian housing starts slowed in October as condo construction pulled back after a surge in September, data from the national housing agency showed. other domestic data, the value of building permits fell by 7 percent in September from August, making for the biggest drop in eight months, data from Statistics Canada showed. government bond prices were lower across the yield curve, with the two-year CA2YT=RR down 2 Canadian cents to yield 0.564 percent and the benchmark 10-year CA10YT=RR falling 9 Canadian cents to yield 1.229 percent.
Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Lawrence Schembri will give a speech in Halifax on the prospects for Canadian exports. The central bank recently acknowledged that some of the weakness in exports is likely structural. Investors will watch the speech for any further updates on the bank's outlook for the sector, which is seen as being key for Canada's growth.
The central bank will release Schembri's prepared remarks at 11:05 a.m. EST (1605 GMT).