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US Dollar Rises Early Wednesday Ahead of Wholesale Inventories, Oil Stocks, FOMC Minutes

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The US dollar rose against its major trading partners early Wednesday, except for a decline versus the Canadian dollar, ahead of the release of wholesale inventories data for May at 10:00 am ET, weekly oil stocks data at 10:30 am ET, and minutes of the June 16-17 Federal Open Market Committee meeting at 2:00 pm ET.

The Atlanta Federal Reserve is expected to update its GDP nowcast estimate for Q2 around midday, and consumer credit data for May are due to be released at 3:00 pm ET.

Earlier Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that mortgage applications declined in the week ended July 3 as the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate increased slightly.

A quick summary of foreign exchange activity heading into Wednesday:

EUR/USD fell to 1.1410 from 1.1416 at the Tuesday US close and 1.1430 at the same time Tuesday morning. There are no Eurozone data on Wednesday's schedule, but European Central Bank policy board member Isabel Schnabel is due to speak at 12:40 pm ET. The next European Central Bank meeting is scheduled for July 23.

GBP/USD fell to 1.3346 from 1.3361 at the Tuesday US close and 1.3385 at the same time Tuesday morning. There are no UK data on Wednesday's schedule. The next Bank of England meeting is scheduled for July 30.

USD/JPY rose to 162.4960 from 162.0824 at the Tuesday US close and 161.9389 at the same time Tuesday morning. The Japanese current account surplus narrowed in May, bank lending growth was in line with the previous month in June, and services business sentiment ticked higher in June, according to data released overnight. The next Bank of Japan meeting is scheduled for July 30-31.

USD/CAD fell to 1.4172 from 1.4196 at the Tuesday US close and 1.4211 at the same time Tuesday morning. Canadian consumer sentiment data for July is due to be released at 11:00 am ET. The next Bank of Canada meeting is scheduled for July 15.

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