Investing.com - The dollar edged off seven-week lows against other major currencies on Friday, as the previous session’s upbeat U.S. data continued to support.
EUR/USD was down 0.17% at 1.1333, off Thursday’s seven-week high of 1.1367.
The dollar regained some ground after data on Thursday showed that initial jobless claims decreased by 4,000 to 262,000 last week, compared to expectations for a 1,000 decline to 265,000.
Separately, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that its manufacturing index rose to 2.0 this month from July’s reading of minus 2.9, in line with the consensus estimate.
The greenback had weakened broadly after the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s July policy meeting released on Wednesday showed that policymakers were still divided over the need to raise interest rates this year.
USD/JPY rose 0.24% to trade at 100.14, still close to Tuesday’s one-month low of 99.52.
GBP/USD slipped 0.23% to 1.3142, after hitting two-and-a-half week highs of 1.3173 on Thursday.
The pound had found some support after data on Thursday showed that U.K. retail sales rose more than expected in June, easing concerns over a slowdown in the economy following the Brexit vote.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.17% at 94.28, off Thursday’s seven-week trough of 94.05.