08:00 AM EDT, 09/19/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The US dollar fell against its major trading partners early Thursday, except versus the yen, as markets digest the Federal Open Market Committee's decision Wednesday to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 50 basis points to 4.75% to 5%, and indicated that more rate cuts are expected through the end of the year.

There was a very rare dissent by a Federal Reserve governor at the meeting, the first since 2005. Michelle Bowman voted against the 50 basis point rate reduction, wanting a smaller 25 basis point interest rate reduction.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the FOMC will act meeting-by-meeting, adding that policy is not on a preset course and that the updates to the Summary of Economic Projections that point to another 50 basis points of reduction this year and 100 basis points of reduction next year are forecasts and not guarantees.

Now markets look ahead to a busy day of economic data releases Thursday. Weekly jobless claims, the current account gap for Q2 and the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's manufacturing reading for September are all due at 8:30 am ET.

Existing home sales and leading indicators data, both for August, are scheduled to be released at 10:00 am ET, followed by weekly natural gas stocks at 10:30 am ET.

A quick summary of foreign exchange activity heading into Thursday:

EUR/USD rose to 1.1171 from 1.1107 at the Wednesday US close and 1.1134 at the same time Wednesday morning. The Eurozone current account surplus narrowed slightly more than expected in July, data releases overnight showed. The next European Central Bank meeting is scheduled for Oct. 17.

GBP/USD rose to 1.3309 from 1.3190 at the Wednesday US close and 1.3213 at the same time Wednesday morning. The Bank of England voted to maintain its current level of interest rates Thursday, as expected, as inflation remains elevated. The next BoE meeting is scheduled for Nov. 7. Earlier Thursday, UK car registrations were reported sharply lower in August compared with both July and a year ago.

USD/JPY rose to 143.1044 from 142.4603 at the Wednesday US close and 141.5865 at the same time Wednesday morning. There were no Japanese data released overnight, so the focus turns to the Bank of Japan's policy announcement to be released around 11:00 pm ET Thursday evening. No change in interest rates is expected.

USD/CAD fell to 1.3556 from 1.3616 at the Wednesday US close and 1.3586 at the same time Wednesday morning. There are no Canadian data on Thursday's schedule. The next Bank of Canada meeting is scheduled for Oct. 23.