07:42 AM EDT, 04/02/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The US dollar rose against its major trading partners early Thursday ahead of the release of weekly jobless claims and international trade data for February at 8:30 am ET.

Weekly natural gas stocks data are due to be released at 10:30 am ET, and the Atlanta Federal Reserve is expected to update its GDPnowcast estimate of Q1 GDP around midday. Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman is due to speak at 12:45 pm ET.

Earlier Thursday, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said that layoff intentions rose in March from February but were well below the level in March 2026 when federal government layoffs were a key factor.

A quick summary of foreign exchange activity heading into Thursday:

EUR/USD fell to 1.1511 from 1.1585 at the Wednesday US close and 1.1603 at the same time Wednesday morning. There are no Eurozone data on Thursday's schedule. The next European Central Bank meeting is scheduled for April 30.

GBP/USD fell to 1.3188 from 1.3301 at the Wednesday US close and 1.3313 at the same time Wednesday morning. There are no UK data on Thursday's schedule. The next Bank of England meeting is scheduled for April 30.

USD/JPY rose to 159.7065 from 158.9043 at the Wednesday US close and 158.4815 at the same time Wednesday morning. The Japanese monetary base fell faster than expected in March, according to data released overnight. The next Bank of Japan meeting is scheduled for April 27-28.

USD/CAD rose to 1.3927 from 1.3885 at the Wednesday US close and 1.3896 at the same time Wednesday morning. Canadian trade balance data for February are due to be released at 8:30 am ET. The next Bank of Canada meeting is scheduled for April 29.