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US Dollar Falls Early Friday Ahead of Retail Sales Business Inventories, Michigan Sentiment

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The US dollar fell against its major trading partners early Friday ahead of the release of retail sales data for July at 8:30 am ET and business inventories data for June and the University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment reading for August, both at 10:00 am ET.

Updates to Q3 GDP nowcasts from the St. Louis and Atlanta Federal Reserve banks are due to be released around midday.

A quick summary of foreign exchange activity heading into Friday:

EUR/USD rose to 1.1558 from 1.1529 at the Thursday US close and 1.1536 at the same time Thursday morning. Eurozone GDP rose as expected in Q2, lifting the year-over-year rate, while Eurozone employment growth in Q2 was in line with the previous quarter, data released earlier Friday showed. The next European Central Bank meeting is scheduled for Sept. 10.

GBP/USD rose to 1.3528 from 1.3487 at the Thursday US close and 1.3490 at the same time Thursday morning. There are no UK data on Friday's schedule. The next Bank of England meeting is scheduled for Sept. 17.

USD/JPY fell to 159.1338 from 159.5183 at the Thursday US close and 159.3079 at the same time Thursday morning. Japanese consumer sentiment rose modestly in August, according to data released overnight. The next Bank of Japan meeting is scheduled for Sept. 17-18.

USD/CAD fell to 1.3884 from 1.3929 at the Thursday US close and 1.3941 at the same time Thursday morning. Canadian wholesale, manufacturing, and motor vehicle sales data for June are due to be released at 8:30 am ET, at the same time as June capacity utilization. The next Bank of Canada meeting is scheduled for Sept. 2.

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