USD/CAD steadies in positive territory near 1.3260

• WTI eases from multi-week highs, trades below $54.
• US Dollar Index looks to close at fresh multi-year tops.
• ADP Employment Change in Canada came in weaker than expected.

Similar to Wednesday's price action, the USD/CAD pair fluctuated during the American session as markets reacted to the macroeconomic data releases from Canada and the US as well as crude oil's movements. With the USD preserving its strength, however, the pair seems to have gone into a consolidation phase in the positive territory. As of writing, the pair was up 0.3% on the day at 1.3260.

The ADP on Thursday reported that the Employment Change in Canada was +25,900 in January, much weaker than the market expectation of 71,800. On the other hand, the Philadelphia Fed's Manufacturing Index jumped to 36.7 in February from 17 in January and beat the analysts' estimate of 12 by a wide margin.

Persistent DXY rally continues

Although the US Dollar Index (DXY) retreated to 99.70 area in the second half of the day, risk aversion and the confirmation of the US economy's strength by the upbeat data allowed it to regain traction. At the moment, the index is up 0.22% on the day at 99.81 and looks to close with daily gains for the 12th time in the last 14 trading days.

Meanwhile, the sour market mood makes it difficult for crude oil prices to preserve its recovery momentum. Despite a smaller-than-expected build in US crude oil stocks, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate eased from the multi-week highs that it set at $54.62 earlier in the day and was last seen trading at $53.90, still up 0.7% on the day.

Friday's economic docket will feature Retail Sales data from Canada and the IHS Markit's advanced Manufacturing and Services PMI for the US.

Technical levels to watch for