Investing.com - The dollar was little changed against the other major currencies on Thursday, amid ongoing concerns over dropping oil prices as investors eyed the European Central Bank’s policy statement and U.S. jobless claims data due later in the day.
USD/JPY held steady at 116.92, off overnight lows of 116.47 and holding above the one-year low of 115.95 hit on Wednesday.
Oil prices slid again on Thursday, re-approaching the 12-year lows hit in Wednesday’s session as a global supply glut continued to pressure prices.
The dollar weakened against the safe haven yen on Wednesday as the plunge in oil prices added to fears over slowing global growth.
In the U.S., data on Wednesday showed that consumer prices unexpectedly fell in December, indicating that inflation could struggle to rise back towards the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
Another report showed that U.S. housing starts and building permits fell last month, prompting investors to push back expectations for additional rate hikes this year.
The ongoing oil rout continued to weigh on the commodity-related Canadian dollar. USD/CAD was down 0.16% at 1.4477, but remained close to the previous session’s 13-year peak of 1.4692.
The Australian dollar was steady, with AUD/USD at 0.6909, while NZD/USD slipped 0.15% to trade at 0.6420.
Meanwhile, EUR/USD was little changed at 1.0897.
Most analysts expect the ECB to keep policy on hold, but the central bank is expected to flag risks to the growth and inflation outlook, in particular from falling energy prices, leaving the way clear for additional easing later this year.
Elsewhere, the dollar was higher against the pound and the Swiss franc, with GBP/USD down 0.38% at 1.4135, close to Wednesday’s nearly seven-year lows of 1.4122, and with USD/CHF adding 0.17% to 1.0062.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 99.16.