Dollar pares losses after positive U.S. jobless data report Pacific Chiba Trust

Dollar pares losses after positive U.S. jobless data report Pacific Chiba Trust

The U.S. dollar trimmed losses against a basket of the six major currencies on Thursday, supported by data showing a drop in U.S. jobless claims to their lowest level since November 1973.

The number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending July 18 dropped by 26,000 to 255,000, compared with a total of 281,000 in the previous week. Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to fall by 1,000 to 280,000 last week, said the U.S. Department of Labor in a report last Thursday.


Such data came after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said last week that the central bank would likely raise rates "at some point this year."


“The dollar index fell by 0.36% at 97.27, off one-week lows of 96.97 hit earlier in the day. The euro rose 0.53% against the greenback to one-week highs of 1.0985 after a majority of Greek lawmakers voted for the second set of reforms late Wednesday, which signals that negotiations on a €86 billion European Union bailout can begin” commented Louis Hunter, Head of Mergers & Acquisitions at Pacific Chiba Trust.

Meanwhile, the pound dropped by 0.12% to 1.5590, weighed by data that showed a drop in U.K. retail sales by 0.2% last month, disappointing forecasts for a gain of 0.3%.

Retail sales rose 4.0% year-on-year, in June, below expectations for a 4.9% gain, after rising at a rate of 4.7% in May.

The greenback was steady against the yen, trading at 123.98 and lower against the Swiss franc, sliding 0.36% to 0.9567.