* Loonie touches a 3-year high intraday at 1.2365 * Canadian new home prices rise 1.9% in February from January * Price of U.S. oil falls 0.9% * Canadian bond yields rise across a steeper curve By Fergal Smith TORONTO, March 18 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar edged lower against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, pulling back from an earlier three-year high as oil prices dropped and a jump in bond yields weighed on risk appetite. The U.S. dollar rebounded against a basket of major currencies after it was pressured on Wednesday by the Federal Reserve"s pledge to look past inflation for a while and keep monetary policy loose through 2023, while U.S. stock index futures fell, including declines for yield-sensitive technology stocks. The price of oil, one of Canada"s major exports, lost ground for a fifth day running after official data showed a further increase in U.S. crude and fuel inventories while the ever-present COVID-19 pandemic clouded the prospects for demand recovery. U.S. crude prices were down 0.9% at $64.02 a barrel. "Softer crude and the uncertain risk mood are clear headwinds for the CAD intraday," strategists at Scotiabank, including Shaun Osborne, said in a note. Still, the modest pullback for the loonie shows "an awful lot of resilience in the CAD as investors continue to anticipate the BoC tapering asset purchases in April," the strategists said. The Canadian dollar dipped 0.1% to 1.2417 per greenback, or 80.53 U.S. cents, having touched its strongest intraday level since February 2018 at 1.2365. A reduction of bond purchases by the Bank of Canada would provide the clearest signal yet that Canada"s economy requires less help to emerge from the coronavirus crisis. Canadian new home prices rose 1.9% in February from January, which was their fastest pace in more than three decades, Statistics Canada said. Canadian government bond yields were higher across a steeper curve in sympathy with U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year rose to its highest since January last year at 1.677% before dipping to 1.659%, up 6.5 basis points on the day. (Reporting by Fergal Smith, Editing by Nick Zieminski)