*

Dollar hits new highs after levies raised for some

countries

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Swiss franc, Canadian dollar hit by country tariffs

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Yen sinks, Bank of Japan signals no hurry to resume rate

hikes

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US monthly jobs data due later

(Updates throughout)

By Amanda Cooper

LONDON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - The dollar headed for its

strongest weekly performance in almost three years against other

major currencies, maintaining momentum on Friday after U.S.

President Donald Trump imposed new tariff rates on dozens of

trade partners.

Some of the currencies of the countries that were hit the

hardest, such as Switzerland, which now faces a 39% rate, fell

sharply. The Swiss franc touched its weakest in six weeks, while

the Canadian dollar headed for a seventh straight weekly loss.

The dollar also gained against other currencies due to

drivers other than tariffs. The yen headed for its largest

weekly loss this year after the Bank of Japan signalled it was

in no hurry to resume interest rate hikes, prompting Finance

Minister Katsunobu Kato to say on Friday that officials were

"alarmed" by currency moves.

Friday also brings the monthly U.S. employment report, which

is expected to show 110,000 workers were added to nonfarm

payrolls in July.

A large part of the dollar's strength this month has come

from the perception among investors that Trump's tariffs have

not derailed the economy and, so far, have not drastically

lifted inflation.

The Federal Reserve, despite pressure from Trump on Chair

Jerome Powell to cut rates, has indicated it is in no rush to do

so. Friday's payrolls report may not move the needle much on

that assumption, even if a weaker reading elicits some selling

of U.S. assets like the dollar, according to IG strategist Chris

Beauchamp.

"Fundamentally the U.S. economy is okay, it's not in the

most wonderful place, tariffs will hurt a little bit and the

market looks like it could be vulnerable in the short term to

more selling, simply as an excuse to take some money off the

table to sit it out and wait and see what happens," he said.

"You'd have to have a lot of very bad data in a very short

period of time between now and September to revive the corpse of

a September rate cut," he said.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. currency

against a basket of six others, is on course to rise 2.4% this

week, its best weekly performance since a 3.1% rally in

September 2022. It was last up 0.1% at 100.13, its highest since

late May.

TARIFF HITS

The Swissie fell against a range of currencies, surrendering

its habitual safe-haven label in the face of a selloff in stocks

and commodities, in response to Trump's hefty duties and to his

demand that pharma companies - key Swiss exporters - lower the

prices at which they sell to U.S. consumers.

The dollar rose by as much as 0.6% to a high of 0.8173

francs, the most in six weeks, while the euro gained 0.5% to

trade at 0.932 francs.

The yen, another classic safe-haven currency, was last a

touch stronger on the day against the dollar, which fell 0.15%

to 150.545 yen, having earlier traded at its strongest since

late March.

The dollar also advanced on the Canadian dollar,

up 0.13% at the day's high of $1.38735, after Canada was hit

with a 35% tariff, instead of the threatened 25%.

The euro remained pinned near an almost two-month

low around $1.1408, as it continues to be weighed down by what

markets see as a lopsided trade agreement with Washington.

"In the short-term, you can make the case for more dollar

strength," said Mike Houlahan, director at Electus Financial in

Auckland. "The lion's share of the tariff news has washed

through."

"The big move of the week has really been the euro getting

re-rated downwards," he said. "The net result would be the

EU-U.S. trade deal is a further headwind for the euro."

The EU's framework trade agreement with the U.S., struck on

Sunday, was quickly criticized by French leaders and the German

head of the European Parliament's trade committee as being

unfair for Europe.

(Additional reporting by Kevin Buckland in Tokyo and Gregor

Stuart Hunter in Singapore. Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Mark

Potter)