07:28 AM EDT, 10/23/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The US dollar rose against its major trading partners early Wednesday ahead of the release of existing home sales data for September at 10:00 am ET, weekly oil stocks at 10:30 am ET and the Federal Reserve's Beige Book report at 2:00 pm ET.

Earlier Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association said home applications fell to their lowest level since July in the week ended Oct. 18 as mortgage rates held steady after a series of increases, pushing down both refinancing activity and new home purchase applications.

Fed Governor Michelle Bowman is due to speak at 9:00 am ET, followed by Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin at 12:00 pm ET.

A quick summary of foreign exchange activity heading into Wednesday:

EUR/USD fell to 1.0779 from 1.0796 at the Tuesday US close and 1.0826 at the same time Tuesday morning. Eurozone consumer confidence data for October are due to be released at 10:00 am ET, at the same time as an appearance by European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde. The next European Central Bank meeting is scheduled for Dec. 12.

GBP/USD fell to 1.2976 from 1.2983 at the Tuesday US close and 1.2978 at the same time Tuesday morning. There are no UK data on Wednesday's schedule, but Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey is due to speak at 4:30 pm ET. The next Bank of England meeting is scheduled for Nov. 7.

USD/JPY rose to 152.8016 from 151.1092 at the Tuesday US close and 150.8713 at the same time Tuesday morning. There were no Japanese data released overnight. The next Bank of Japan meeting is scheduled for Oct. 30-31.

USD/CAD rose to 1.3831 from 1.3820 at the Tuesday US close but was down slightly from a level of 1.3832 at the same time Tuesday morning. The Bank of Canada is expected to lower its target rate by 50 basis points in its post-meeting announcement scheduled for 9:45 am ET, followed by a press conference. There are no Canadian data on Wednesday's schedule.