Investing.com - The dollar remained higher against the other major currencies on Thursday, still hovering close to a seven-month peak after data showed that U.S. jobless claims held steady at a two-month high last week, but remained in territory consistent with a strengthening labor market.
USD/JPY eased up 0.09% to 122.97, close to last week's three-month highs of 123.61.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending November 7 was unchanged from a week earlier at 276,000. Analysts had expected jobless claims to fall by 6,000 to 270,000.
The greenback remained broadly supported as last week's strong U.S. employment data paved the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at its December meeting.
Market participants were turning their attention to a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen due later in the day, with hopes for further indications on the timing of a potential rate hike.
EUR/USD slipped 0.13% to 1.0729.
The euro weakened after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the central bank "will re-examine the degree of monetary policy accommodation" at its December meeting.
Speaking to the European Parliament, Draghi said inflation dynamics had somewhat weakened and that a "sustained normalization" of inflation could take longer to achieve than thought.
Elsewhere, the dollar was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD edging down 0.18% at 1.5185 and was steady against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF at 1.0043.
The Australian dollar was higher, with AUD/USD up 0.71% to 0.7113, while NZD/USD dropped 0.56% to 0.6521.
The Aussie strengthened broadly after the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday that the number of employed people increased by 58.600 last month, blowing past expectations for a 15.000 rise.
The number of employed people fell by 800 in September, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 5.100 drop.
Australia's unemployment rate ticked down to 5.9% in October from 6.2% the previous month, compared to expectations for an unchanged reading.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD gained 0.35% to trade at 1.3309, still within close distance of last week's one-month peak of 1.3316.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.12% at 99.19, not far from Tuesday's seven-month highs of 99.60.