07:47 AM EDT, 03/28/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The US dollar rose against its major trading partners early Thursday ahead of a busy data schedule that starts with weekly jobless claims and the final estimate of Q4 gross domestic product, both at 8:30 am ET.

The final University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for March and pending home sales data for February are due to be released at 10:00 am ET, followed by weekly natural gas stocks at 10:30 am ET and the Kansas City Federal Reserve's manufacturing index for March at 11:00 am ET.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller said Wednesday evening it would be "appropriate to reduce the overall number of rate cuts or push them further into the future in response to the recent data."

Waller said he still believes rate reductions could be appropriate this year but added there was no rush to begin easing policy until the Fed sees further evidence of inflation improvement, citing a "significantly lower" risk of waiting longer than cutting too soon.

The CME Fed Watch Tool now shows a 63.5% chance of a rate cut at the June 11-12 Federal Open Market Committee meeting, compared with 70.1% at the same time Wednesday.

A quick summary of foreign exchange activity heading into Thursday:

EUR-USD fell to 1.0790 from 1.0828 at the Wednesday US close and 1.0833 at the same time Wednesday morning. Eurozone loan growth to nonfinancial corporations accelerated in February, data released earlier Thursday showed. The next European Central Bank meeting is scheduled for April 11.

GBP-USD fell to 1.2619 from 1.2641 at the Wednesday US close and 1.2632 at the same time Wednesday morning. UK GDP declined in Q4 from the previous quarter and a year earlier, data released overnight showed, in line with the preliminary data for the quarter released last month. The next Bank of England meeting is scheduled for May 9.

USD-JPY rose to 151.3562 from 151.3066 at the Wednesday US close and 151.1359 at the same time Wednesday morning after talk of invention from Japanese officials drove the pair lower earlier in the week. There were no Japanese data released overnight. The next Bank of Japan meeting is scheduled for April 25-26.

USD-CAD rose to 1.3586 from 1.3568 at Wednesday US close but was below a level of 1.3594 at the same time Wednesday morning. Canadian GDP data for January and a preliminary estimate for February are scheduled to be released at 8:30 am ET. The next Bank of Canada meeting is set for April 10.