Investing.com - The dollar edged up to two-week highs against the other major currencies on Thursday, as investors eyed upcoming data on U.S. jobless claims and began to focus on the Federal Reserve's policy meeting scheduled next week.
The dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.23% to 1.1315.
Market participants were eyeing the weekly report on U.S. jobless claims due later in the day after a batch of mixed U.S. economic reports fuelled fresh uncertainty over the timing of a U.S. rate hike.
Meanwhile, sentiment on the single currency slightly weakened ahead of the European Central Bank's monthly monetary policy decision, expected later Thursday.
The ECB was expected to keep its monetary policy unchanged but it could flag plans to enlarge its stimulus program.
The dollar was lower against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.15% at 119.73 but still remained within close distance of Thursday's one-week peak of 119.98.
Elsewhere, the dollar was at one-week lows against the pound, with GBP/USD rising 0.27% to 1.5459 and was higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF gaining 0.33% to 0.9628.
The U.K. Office for National Statistics reported on Thursday that retail sales surged by 1.9% last month, blowing past forecasts for a gain of 0.3%.
Year-on-year, retail sales increased by 6.5% in September, above expectations for a 4.8% gain.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, jumped 1.7% last month, easily surpassing forecasts for a 0.3% increase.
The data came a day after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney warned of the potential pitfalls of being a member of the European Union, as the country prepares to vote on membership of the single market.
The comments came amid mounting concerns that the referendum promised by David Cameron by the end of 2017 may actually lead to the U.K.'s leaving the EU.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were stronger, with AUD/USD adding 0.12% to 0.7219 and with NZD/USD advancing 0.86% to 0.6766.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD slipped 0.13% to trade at 1.3119.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.10% at a two-week high of 95.17.