Investing.com - The dollar fell to session lows against the yen on Thursday as doubts over whether the Federal Reserve will start tapering stimulus this month persisted after last week’s disappointing U.S. jobs report.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar fell to session lows against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.67% to 99.22.
The dollar briefly hit intra-day highs against the yen after data showed that U.S. initial jobless claims fell sharply last week, dropping to the lowest level since 2006.
The Department of Labor said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. fell by 31,000 to a seasonally adjusted 292,000 from 323,000 in the previous week.
However, the report said the decline was largely due to two states not processing all their claims because of computer upgrades.
Elsewhere, the euro was steady near two-week highs against the dollar, with EUR/USD inching up 0.04% to trade at 1.3314.
The euro hit session lows earlier after data showed that industrial production in the euro area fell 1.5% in July, worse than expectations for a 0.1% decline. On a year-over-year basis industrial production fell 2.1%, more than forecasts for a 0.1% decline.
The pound was supported close to seven-month highs against the dollar, with GBP/USD dipping 0.01% to 1.5817.
Earlier Thursday, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said the U.K. economy is picking up as a result of the bank’s stimulus program. The comments came during testimony to parliament’s Treasury Select Committee.
The dollar was lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF down 0.23% to 0.9284.
Elsewhere, the greenback was mixed against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD dropping 0.59% to 0.9272, NZD/USD advancing 0.80% to 0.8146 and USD/CAD dipping 0.03% to 1.0315.
The Australian dollar fell sharply after data released Thursday showed that the Australian economy unexpectedly cut 10,800 jobs in August and the unemployment rate ticked up to 5.8% in August, from 5.7% the previous month.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand dollar found support after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand left interest rates unchanged at 2.5% and said rate hikes are likely to be required next year.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.16% to 81.59.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar fell to session lows against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.67% to 99.22.
The dollar briefly hit intra-day highs against the yen after data showed that U.S. initial jobless claims fell sharply last week, dropping to the lowest level since 2006.
The Department of Labor said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. fell by 31,000 to a seasonally adjusted 292,000 from 323,000 in the previous week.
However, the report said the decline was largely due to two states not processing all their claims because of computer upgrades.
Elsewhere, the euro was steady near two-week highs against the dollar, with EUR/USD inching up 0.04% to trade at 1.3314.
The euro hit session lows earlier after data showed that industrial production in the euro area fell 1.5% in July, worse than expectations for a 0.1% decline. On a year-over-year basis industrial production fell 2.1%, more than forecasts for a 0.1% decline.
The pound was supported close to seven-month highs against the dollar, with GBP/USD dipping 0.01% to 1.5817.
Earlier Thursday, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said the U.K. economy is picking up as a result of the bank’s stimulus program. The comments came during testimony to parliament’s Treasury Select Committee.
The dollar was lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF down 0.23% to 0.9284.
Elsewhere, the greenback was mixed against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD dropping 0.59% to 0.9272, NZD/USD advancing 0.80% to 0.8146 and USD/CAD dipping 0.03% to 1.0315.
The Australian dollar fell sharply after data released Thursday showed that the Australian economy unexpectedly cut 10,800 jobs in August and the unemployment rate ticked up to 5.8% in August, from 5.7% the previous month.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand dollar found support after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand left interest rates unchanged at 2.5% and said rate hikes are likely to be required next year.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.16% to 81.59.