USD/CAD drops the most in a month as SVB, Fed concerns weigh on US Dollar, favor Oil price

USD/CAD stands on slippery grounds, declining nearly 0.80% intraday to 1.3720 heading into Monday’s European session. In doing so, the Loonie pair sellers cheer the broad US Dollar weakness, as well as the recent recovery in prices of Crude Oil, Canada’s key export item.

US Dollar Index (DXY) drops to the lowest levels in a month, down 0.80% near 103.80, as risk-on mood joins easing hawkish Fed bets to drown the greenback’s gauge versus the six major currencies. On the other hand, WTI crude oil rises for the second consecutive day, up 0.50% intraday near $77.00 at the latest.

After witnessing the stock and bond market rout on Friday, the market sentiment improved as the US Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) took joint actions to tame the risks emanating from the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank during the weekend.  “All depositors of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank will be fully protected,” said the authorities in a statement released afterward. While reacting to the US regulators’ actions, US President Joe Biden said, “American people and American businesses can have confidence that their bank deposits will be there when they need them.”

It should be noted, however, that the latest fallout of the SVB and Signature Bank flagged fragile conditions of the US bank, which in turn pushed back hopes of more rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve (Fed). With this in mind, Goldman Sachs expects to rate hike in March while the Fed Fund Futures also cut previously upbeat odds favoring a 0.50% rate lift in the Fed rate in March.

Alternatively, China’s dislike for the US interference in Taiwan matters and the better-than-expected US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) join the Bank of Canada’s (BoC) dovish play to weigh on the Loonie prices.

On Friday, US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) grew more than 205K expected to 311K in February, versus 504K (revised), while the Unemployment Rate rose to 3.6% for the said month compared to 3.4% expected and prior. Further, the Average Hourly Earnings rose on YoY but eased on monthly basis for February whereas the Labor Force Participation increased during the stated month.

At home, Canada’s Net Change in Employment rose to 21.8K versus 10K market forecasts and 150K prior while the Unemployment Rate remained unchanged at 5.0% compared to 5.1% expected.

Looking ahead, Tuesday’s US Consumer Price Index (CPI) for February to direct immediate market moves. Following that, the Retail Sales and preliminary readings of the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for March, up for publishing on Wednesday and Friday, will be crucial for clear directions of the USD/CAD traders.

Technical analysis

Friday’s Doji at multi-day high joins overbought RSI to favor USD/CAD pullback towards the late 2022 peak surrounding the 1.3700 round figure.