* Canadian dollar rises 0.2% against the greenback
* Canadian GDP rises 3% in July
* Loonie touches its weakest level since Aug. 4 at 1.3420
* Canada's 10-year CA10YT=RR rises half a basis point to 0.541%
TORONTO, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday as domestic data showed the economy continuing to recover in recent months, with the loonie rebounding from an earlier 8-week low hit amid U.S. political uncertainty.
The Canadian economy expanded by 3% in July as businesses across the country continued to reopen from coronavirus shutdowns, Statistics Canada said, with growth seen gaining at a slower 1% month-on-month pace in August. stocks .WORLD fell and safer assets such as the yen JPY= and U.S. dollar .DXY found buyers after a chaotic first U.S. presidential debate and rising COVID-19 cases turned investors cautious, though strong factory surveys boosted China's markets. Canadian dollar CAD= was trading 0.2% higher at 1.3366 to the greenback, or 74.82 U.S. cents, having touched its weakest intraday level since Aug. 4 at 1.3420.
The currency was on track to decline 2.4% in September, ending a five-month streak of gains, as the resurgence in the pandemic weighs on investor sentiment.
The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, fell for a second day as rising coronavirus infections prompted concerns about further restrictions on global economic activity that could curb fuel demand. U.S. crude CLc1 prices were down 0.1% at $39.26 a barrel. federal authorities and its two biggest provinces on Tuesday promised new measures to combat a second COVID-19 wave that is notching up as many cases as during the pandemic's peak in April. government bond yields edged higher across much of the curve on Wednesday, with the 10-year CA10YT=RR up half a basis point at 0.541%.
Canadian home prices, which rallied more sharply than expected this year, are set to rise by less than consumer inflation next year as higher unemployment and lower immigration levels cool down the market, a Reuters poll of analysts showed.