Investing.com - The dollar held gains against the other major currencies on Thursday, as upbeat U.S. economic reports sparked optimism over the strength of the economy and fuelled further expectations for a September rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
EUR/USD slid 0.37% to 1.1116 after data showed that U.S. jobless claims rose more than expected last week, but held near the lowest level since November 1973.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending August 8 rose by 5,000 to 274,000 from the previous week’s total of 269,000. Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to rise by 1,000 to 270,000 last week.
Separately, the U.S. Commerce Department said that retail sales increased by 0.6% last month, beating expectations for a gain of 0.5%. Retail sales fell by 0.3% in June.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, rose by 0.4% in July, matching forecasts.
Meanwhile, the turmoil caused by the devaluation of the yuan two days in a row subsided after China's central bank said there was no basis for further depreciation in the currency, given China's strong economic fundamentals.
The yuan has fallen almost 5% against the dollar this week after China devalued its currency in a surprise move on Tuesday in a bid to shore up growth in the flagging economy.
The dollar was higher against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.20% to 124.44, but remained below Wednesday’s one-month peak of 125.27.
Data on Thursday showed that Japan's core machinery orders dropped 7.9% in June, compared to expectations for a decline of 5.6%, after a 0.6% rise the previous month.
Elsewhere, the dollar was higher against the pound and the Swiss franc, with GBP/USD down 0.17% at 1.5587 and with USD/CHF adding 0.15% to 0.9769.
In Switzerland, data showed that producer prices fell by 0.3% in July, confounding expectations for a 0.2% downtick, after a 0.1% slip in June.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars remained lower, with AUD/USD down 0.58% to 0.7335 and with NZD/USD declining 0.96% to 0.6556.
The Melbourne Institute earlier reported that its inflation expectations for the next 12 months in Australia ticked up to 3.7% in July from 3.4% the previous month.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD climbed 0.76% to trade at 1.3073.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.34% at 96.61, off Wednesday's one-month lows of 95.94.