* C$ rises to 92.30 U.S. cents
* Bonds edge higher
* Bernanke speech, U.S. existing home sales eyed
By Ka Yan Ng
TORONTO, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar hit a fresh one-week high on Friday as overseas equities reversed course and rebounded, boosting risk appetite, while firm underlying commodity prices also helped.
The Canadian unit CAD= weakened overnight to as low as C$1.0944 to the U.S. dollar, or 91.37 U.S. cents, before retracing ground when risk appetite was switched on by a late rally in Chinese stocks. European stocks were also higher on strong readings of euro zone purchasing managers' surveys.
North American stock markets looked set to carry forward the rise in risk appetite with U.S. stock index futures SPc1 pointing to a higher open and with Toronto's main index likely to be supported by firm commodities. This could help the Canadian dollar build on gains from the past three sessions.
"I think to be able to achieve the next leg lower in dollar/Canada, and strength for the Canadian dollar, that we're going to have to see some of the investor confidence be accompanied by a positive mood in equities," said C.J. Gavsie, managing director of foreign exchange sales at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto.
At 8:37 a.m. (1237 GMT), the currency was at C$1.0834 to the U.S. dollar, or 92.30 U.S. cents, up from C$1.0873 or 91.97 U.S. cents at Thursday's close.
Market players were on guard for a 10 a.m. (1400 GMT) speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke at an annual gathering of global policymakers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Investors will be looking for hints on the U.S. central bank's view of the economy and monetary policy.
Data on U.S. existing home sales due out at the same time may also be influential.
Canadian bond prices were slightly higher across the board ahead of the data and Bernanke's speech.
The two-year Canadian bond was up 2 Canadian cents at C$99.50 to yield 1.251 percent, while the 10-year bond rose 7 Canadian cents to C$103.05 to yield 3.38 percent.
The 30-year bond was unchanged at C$118.75 to yield 3.889 percent. (Editing by James Dalgleish)
