The loonie strengthened 0.1% to 1.2700 per greenback, or 78.74 U.S. cents, having traded in a range of 1.2680 to 1.2746. It was the only G10 currency to advance against the U.S. dollar.

The loonie benefited from a pullback in U.S. bond yields and stocks moving close to an all-time high, said Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist at Scotiabank.

U.S. Treasury yields slid as investors showed strong demand for long-dated bonds in an auction. Rising Treasury yields in recent days had supported the U.S. dollar, driven by expectations of higher government spending under President-elect Joe Biden's incoming administration.

"We have probably seen some stop-loss selling of dollar-Canada on the move back under 1.27 and I suspect we've also seen some liquidation of EUR-CAD longs as well," Osborne said.

The loonie touched its strongest level in nearly five weeks against the euro at 1.5409.

The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, fell as rising global COVID-19 cases threatened to hamper global fuel demand. U.S. crude oil futures settled 0.6% lower at $52.91 a barrel.

Capital investment in Canada's upstream oil and gas industry will rise 14% this year, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said, although spending remains well below pre-pandemic levels.

As a second wave of COVID-19 cases strengthens in Canada, money markets see an increased chance of the Bank of Canada cutting interest rates closer to zero.

Canadian government bond yields eased across a flatter curve. The 10-year fell 2.9 basis points to 0.812%, pulling back from its highest intraday level in nearly 10 months at 0.887% on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Peter Cooney)

By Fergal Smith