07:51 AM EST, 11/07/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The US dollar reversed part of its Wednesday gains against its major trading partners early Thursday ahead of a busy data schedule before the Federal Open Market Committee's two-day policy setting meeting conclusion announcement in the afternoon, starting with weekly jobless claims and preliminary productivity and unit labor cost figures for Q3, both at 8:30 am ET.

Wholesale inventories data for September are due at 10:00 am ET, followed by weekly natural gas stocks data at 10:30 am ET and consumer credit data for September at 3:00 pm ET. The Atlanta Federal Reserve is due to update its gross domestic product Nowcast estimate for Q4 around midday.

The FOMC meeting announcement is scheduled to be released at 2:00 pm ET. According to CME's FedWatch tool, there is currently a 99% chance of a 25 basis point rate reduction being priced in, putting the target range at 4.50% to 4.75%. The chance that the range will be trimmed further to 4.25% to 4.5% is seen at only 1%.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's press conference is expected to begin at 2:30 pm ET.

A quick summary of foreign exchange activity heading into Thursday:

EUR/USD rose to 1.0760 from 1.0736 at the Wednesday US close and 1.0707 at the same time Wednesday morning. Eurozone retail sales growth was above expectations in September while its construction purchasing managers' index rose in October but still indicated contraction, data released earlier Thursday showed. European Central Bank policy board member Philip Lane is due to speak at 8:30 am ET. The next European Central Bank meeting is scheduled for Dec. 12.

GBP/USD rose to 1.2926 from 1.2889 at the Wednesday US close and 1.2857 at the same time Wednesday morning. The Bank of England lowered its target rate by 25 basis points Thursday morning, as expected, saying that further rate cuts are likely, but the BoE will continue to monitor inflation. BoE Governor Andrew Bailey is due to speak at 9:15 am ET. The next Bank of England meeting is scheduled for Dec. 19. Overnight, UK home prices reportedly rose as expected in October, but the year-over-year rate slowed.

USD/JPY fell to 153.9463 from 154.5599 at the Wednesday US close and 154.2111 at the same time Wednesday morning. Japanese wage income growth slowed as expected in September, data released overnight showed. The next Bank of Japan meeting is scheduled for Dec. 18-19.

USD/CAD fell to 1.3889 from 1.3938 at the Wednesday US close and 1.3908 at the same time Wednesday morning. The Canadian leading index rose in October, in line with the gain in the previous month, according to data released earlier Thursday. The next Bank of Canada meeting is scheduled for Dec. 11.