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US Dollar Rises Early Thursday Ahead of Jobless Claims, Productivity

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The US dollar rose against its major trading partners early Thursday, except for a decline versus the Canadian dollar, before the release of weekly jobless claims and Q2 productivity and unit labor costs data, all at 8:30 am ET.

Wholesale inventories data for June are due to be released at 10:00 am ET, followed by weekly natural gas stocks at 10:30 am ET and an update to the Atlanta Federal Reserve's GDP nowcast estimate around midday.

Earlier Wednesday, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that layoff intentions declined in July from both June and the previous month, but the technology sector still led the total and artificial intelligence was the key reason listed for the fifth straight month.

A quick summary of foreign exchange activity heading into Thursday:

EUR/USD fell to 1.1544 from 1.1551 at the Wednesday US close but was little changed from a level of 1.1543 at the same time Wednesday morning. Eurozone construction PMI rose in July but still indicated contraction, while Eurozone retail sales declined in June, slowing the year-over-year rate, data released earlier Thursday showed. The next European Central Bank meeting is scheduled for Sept. 10.

GBP/USD fell to 1.3464 from 1.3466 at the Wednesday US close and 1.3467 at the same time Wednesday morning. UK construction PMI rose in July but was still below the breakeven point, according to data released earlier Thursday. The next Bank of England meeting is scheduled for Sept. 17.

USD/JPY rose to 157.9260 from 157.7287 at the Wednesday US close and 157.5523 at the same time Wednesday morning. There were no Japanese data released overnight. The next Bank of Japan meeting is scheduled for Sept. 17-18.

USD/CAD fell to 1.3996 from 1.4012 at the Wednesday US close and 1.4060 at the same time Wednesday morning. Canadian services PMI for July is due to be released at 9:30 am ET. The next Bank of Canada meeting is scheduled for Sept. 2.

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