US Dollar Mixed Early Friday, Focus on Consumer Prices
The US dollar was mixed against its major trading partners early Friday -- up versus the yen and Canadian dollar, down versus the euro and pound -- ahead of the release of March consumer price data at 8:30 am ET, which is expected to be heavily impacted by rising energy prices due to the conflict in Iran.Overall CPI is expected to rise by 0.9% on that energy price spike, while core prices, which exclude the food and energy components, are seen up by only 0.3%.The University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index for April is due to be released at 10:00 am ET, at the same time as factory orders data for February.The St. Louis Federal Reserve is expected to update its GDP nowcast estimate for Q1 around midday, and the US Treasury is scheduled to publish its March budget statement at 2:00 pm ET.A quick summary of foreign exchange activity heading into Friday:EUR/USD rose to 1.1716 from 1.1701 at the Thursday US close and 1.1674 at the same time Thursday morning. There are no Eurozone data on Friday's schedule. The next European Central Bank meeting is scheduled for April 30.GBP/USD rose to 1.3440 from 1.3436 at the Thursday US close and 1.3405 at the same time Thursday morning. There are no UK data on Friday's schedule. The next Bank of England meeting is scheduled for April 30.USD/JPY rose to 159.2040 from 159.0822 at the Thursday US close and 159.0410 at the same time Thursday morning. Japanese producer price growth accelerated in March while Japanese consumer sentiment declined in April, according to data released overnight. The next Bank of Japan meeting is scheduled for April 27-28.USD/CAD rose to 1.3836 from 1.3813 at the Thursday US close, but was below a level of 1.3853 at the same time Thursday morning. Canadian employment data for March is due to be released at 8:30 am ET. The next Bank of Canada meeting is scheduled for April 29.