07:39 AM EDT, 07/31/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The US dollar rose against its major trading partners early Friday ahead of the release of the employment cost index for Q2 at 8:30 am ET and the Chicago PMI report for July at 9:45 am ET.

The final University of Michigan consumer sentiment reading for July is due to be released at 10:00 am ET, and the St. Louis Federal Reserve is expected to publish its first GDP nowcast estimate for Q3 around midday.

A quick summary of foreign exchange activity heading into Friday:

EUR/USD fell to 1.1501 from 1.1532 at the Thursday US close but was above a level of 1.1475 at the same time Thursday morning. Eurozone consumer prices surged in July, pushing up the year-over-year rate, while core prices were flat, according to data released earlier Friday. The next European Central Bank meeting is scheduled for September 10.

GBP/USD fell to 1.3442 from 1.3471 at the Thursday US close but was above a level of 1.3388 at the same time Thursday morning. UK home prices rose as expected in July, slowing the year-over-year rate, data released earlier Friday showed. The next Bank of England meeting is scheduled for Sept. 17.

USD/JPY rose to 160.0718 from 159.3305 at the Thursday US close but was down sharply from 162.7696 at the same time Thursday morning on reported intervention by Japanese officials. The Bank of Japan maintained its policy rate at its meeting on Thursday, as expected, and lowered its inflation forecasts. Tokyo CPI, an early indicator for Japanese consumer prices, accelerated in July, while the Japanese unemployment rate held steady in June and Japanese industrial production growth accelerated in the same month. The next Bank of Japan meeting is scheduled for Sept. 17-18.

USD/CAD rose to 1.4025 from 1.4002 at the Thursday US close but was below a level of 1.4045 at the same time Thursday morning. Canadian GDP data for May and preliminary GDP data for June are due to be released at 8:30 am ET, followed by Canadian budget balance data for May at 11:00 am ET. The next Bank of Canada meeting is scheduled for Sept. 2.