Investing.com - The dollar rose to fresh four-month highs against the yen on Thursday after data showed that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell more-than-forecast.
During European afternoon trade, USD/JPY advanced 0.92% to 100.95, the highest since July 10.
The Department of Labor said the said the number of people filing for initial jobless benefits last week fell by 21,000 to a seasonally adjusted 323,000, beating expectations for a decline of 9,000.
A separate report showed that U.S. producer price inflation declined 0.2% in October, in line with expectations.
The data came after Wednesday’s minutes of the Federal Reserve’s October meeting indicated that the bank could start scaling back its stimulus program in the “coming months” if the economy continues to improve as expected.
Elsewhere, EUR/USD was up 0.18% to 1.3463, after falling as low as 1.3399 earlier.
The euro recovered from session lows after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi played down speculation over negative deposit rates in the euro zone during a speech in Germany.
Data released earlier on Thursday showed that manufacturing activity in the euro zone expanded in line with forecasts in November, but service sector activity declined unexpectedly, indicating that the recovery in the bloc is losing momentum.
The pound was slightly higher against the dollar, with GBP/USD easing up 0.13% to 1.6126.
The dollar slipped lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF sliding 0.16% to 0.9146.
The greenback was broadly stronger against the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, with AUD/USD dropping 0.82% to 0.9256, NZD/USD losing 0.68% to trade at 0.8215 and USD/CAD rising 0.36% to 1.0485.
Sentiment on the commodity linked Australian and New Zealand dollars was hit after data indicated that manufacturing activity in China slowed this month.
China’s HSBC manufacturing index ticked down to 50.4 in November, from a final reading of 50.9 in October, missing forecasts for a reading of 50.8.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dipped 0.01% to 81.08.
During European afternoon trade, USD/JPY advanced 0.92% to 100.95, the highest since July 10.
The Department of Labor said the said the number of people filing for initial jobless benefits last week fell by 21,000 to a seasonally adjusted 323,000, beating expectations for a decline of 9,000.
A separate report showed that U.S. producer price inflation declined 0.2% in October, in line with expectations.
The data came after Wednesday’s minutes of the Federal Reserve’s October meeting indicated that the bank could start scaling back its stimulus program in the “coming months” if the economy continues to improve as expected.
Elsewhere, EUR/USD was up 0.18% to 1.3463, after falling as low as 1.3399 earlier.
The euro recovered from session lows after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi played down speculation over negative deposit rates in the euro zone during a speech in Germany.
Data released earlier on Thursday showed that manufacturing activity in the euro zone expanded in line with forecasts in November, but service sector activity declined unexpectedly, indicating that the recovery in the bloc is losing momentum.
The pound was slightly higher against the dollar, with GBP/USD easing up 0.13% to 1.6126.
The dollar slipped lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF sliding 0.16% to 0.9146.
The greenback was broadly stronger against the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, with AUD/USD dropping 0.82% to 0.9256, NZD/USD losing 0.68% to trade at 0.8215 and USD/CAD rising 0.36% to 1.0485.
Sentiment on the commodity linked Australian and New Zealand dollars was hit after data indicated that manufacturing activity in China slowed this month.
China’s HSBC manufacturing index ticked down to 50.4 in November, from a final reading of 50.9 in October, missing forecasts for a reading of 50.8.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dipped 0.01% to 81.08.