USD/CAD RETREATS TOWARDS 1.3800 AS OIL BEARS TAKE A BREATHER, US/CANADA EMPLOYMENT DATA EYED II On Thursday, Bank of Canada Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers signaled that the Canadian central bank’s latest pause in the interest rate hikes is a conditional one. The policymaker added, “If economic developments unfold as we projected and inflation comes down as quickly as we forecast in the January Monetary Policy Report (MPR), then we shouldn’t need to raise rates further. But if evidence accumulates suggesting inflation may not decline in line with our forecast, we’re prepared to do more.” Elsewhere, mixed employment clues from the US probed the US Dollar bulls ahead of the key jobs report. That said, US Initial Jobless Claims marked the biggest jump since January by rising to 211K for the week ended on March 03 versus 195K expected and 190K prior. Additionally, the Challenger Job Cuts were down and the Continuing Jobless Claims were up. It should be noted that fears emanating from softer China inflation data and US President Joe Biden’s proposal tax hike exert downside pressure on the market sentiment and the Oil price. With this, the WTI crude oil dropped to a two-week low during the three-day losing streak, before making rounds to $75.70. Amid these plays, the USD/CAD pair appears indecisive but the bears are likely firming their grips with hopes of witnessing negative surprise from the US data. However, market consensus for the Canadian jobs report for February also appears less optimistic and hence the Loonie pair traders should remain cautious ahead of the all-important releases.