Investing.com - The dollar was mixed against a basket of other major currencies on Thursday, after the release of strong U.S. economic reports but remained stronger against the euro as weak data on economic growth and inflation still fuelled expectations for easing by the European Central Bank.
The euro remained lower against the dollar, with EUR/USD down 0.09% at 1.3702.
The Federal Reserve of Philadelphia said its manufacturing index ticked down to 15.4 this month, from a reading of 16.6 in April, compared to expectations for a fall to 14.0.
The data came after the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending May 10 fell by 24,000 to 297,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 321,000. Analysts had expected jobless claims to fall by 1,000 to 320,000 last week.
A separate report showed that U.S. core consumer price inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose by 0.2% last month, more than the expected 0.1% uptick, while consumer price inflation rose 0.3% in April, in line with expectations.
The New York Fed said its manufacturing index climbed to a more than two-year high of 19.01 in May, from a reading of 1.29 in April. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 5.00 this month.
U.S. industrial production dropped 0.6% last month, confounding expectations for a 0.1% rise. March's figure was revised up to a 0.9% increase from a previously estimated 0.7% gain.
The euro weakened earlier, after Eurostat earlier said the euro zone’s gross domestic product grew just 0.2% in the first quarter, compared to expectations for growth of 0.4%. On a year-over-year basis the bloc’s economy expanded 0.9%, falling short of expectations for growth of 1.1%.
Separately, Eurostat reported that the annual rate of inflation in the euro zone was unchanged at 0.7% in April, in line with forecasts. The inflation rate is still well below the ECB's target of close to but just under 2%.
The dollar was lower against the yen, with USD/JPY sliding 0.24% to 101.65.
Earlier Thursday, data showed that Japan’s GDP rose 1.5% in the first quarter, bringing the annual rate of growth to 5.9%. The strong growth was attributed to an increase in consumer spending ahead of a sales tax increase that came into effect on April 1.
Elsewhere, sterling turned higher against the dollar, with GBP/USD trading at 1.6796, while the greenback edged up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF adding 0.11% to 0.8908.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars slid lower, with AUD/USD down 0.37% to 0.9343, and NZD/USD dropping 0.40% to 0.8633. USD/CAD edged down 0.11% to 1.0876.
In Canada, official data showed that manufacturing sales rose 0.4% in March, exceeding expectations for a 0.2% gain. Manufacturing sales in February were revised up to a 1.5% increase from a previously estimated 1.4% rise.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.03% to 80.09.