Financial Wire

US Dollar Rises Early Wednesday Before Import Prices, Empire, Beige Book

-- The US dollar rose against its major trading partners early Wednesday ahead of the release of import and export price data for March and the New York Federal Reserve's Empire manufacturing index for April, as well as an appearance by Fed Governor Michael Barr, all at 8:30 am ET.

The National Association of Home Builders sentiment reading for April is due to be released at 10:00 am ET, followed by weekly petroleum stocks data at 10:30 am ET.

Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman is due to speak at 1:45 pm ET, the Fed's Beige Book report is due to be released at 2:00 pm ET and the Treasury's TICS report for February is due at 4:00 pm ET.

Earlier Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers' Association said that a decline in mortgage rates lifted refinancing activity, though home purchase activity declined due to continued uncertainty.

A quick summary of foreign exchange activity heading into Wednesday:

EUR/USD fell to 1.1778 from 1.1792 at the Tuesday US close and 1.1797 at the same time Tuesday morning. Eurozone industrial production rebounded in February from a decline in the previous month. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is due to speak at 3:30 pm ET, followed by ECB policy board member Isabel Schnabel at 4:00 pm ET and ECB policy board member Philip Lane at 11:40 pm ET. The next European Central Bank meeting is scheduled for April 30.

GBP/USD fell to 1.3552 from 1.3564 at the Tuesday US close and 1.3559 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 11:50 am ET and again at 2:00 pm ET. The next Bank of England meeting is scheduled for April 30.

USD/JPY rose to 158.9718 from 158.8620 at the Tuesday US close and 158.7746 at the same time Tuesday morning. Japanese business conditions slowed in April according to the Reuters Tankan survey released overnight, while core machinery orders improved in February after a decline in the previous month. The next Bank of Japan meeting is scheduled for April 27-28.

USD/CAD rose to 1.3781 from 1.3770 at the Tuesday US close and 1.3751 at the same time Tuesday morning. Canadian manufacturing and wholesale sales data for February are due to be released at 8:30 am ET. The next Bank of Canada meeting is scheduled for April 29.

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