Investing.com - The dollar moved higher against the other major currencies on Thursday, after data showed that U.S. jobless claims rose less than expected last week, holding near the lowest level since November 1973, while investors continued to eye Friday's nonfarm payrolls data.
EUR/USD slipped 0.23% to 1.0880.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending August 1 rose by 3,000 to 270,000 from the previous week’s total of 267,000. Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to rise by 6,000 to 273,000 last week.
Investors were eyeing the upcoming U.S. nonfarm payrolls report due on Friday, which could reinforce expectations for higher interest rates by the Federal Reserve.
The dollar turned higher against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.49% at 1.5525.
The U.K. Office for National Statistics reported on Thursday that manufacturing production increased by 0.2% in June, matching expectations and following a decline of 0.6% in May.
On an annualized basis, manufacturing production rose at rate of 0.5%, beating estimates for a gain of 0.4%, after rising at a rate of 1.0% in May.
The report also showed that U.K. industrial production fell by 0.4% in June, disappointing expectations for a gain of 0.1%, after increasing 0.3% in the preceding month.
Elsewhere, the dollar was little changed against the yen, with USD/JPY at 124.93 and higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF gaining 0.56% to 0.9845.
The Australian dollar was lower, with AUD/USD sliding 0.42% to 0.7325, while NZD/USD added 0.22% to 0.6527.
Earlier Thursday, data showed that the number of employed people in Australia rose by 38,500 in July, beating expectations for an increase of 10,000. The number of employed people ose by 7,000 in June, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated gain of 7,300.
The report also showed that Australia's unemployment rate ticked up to 6.3% last month from 6.1% in June, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated rate of 6.0%. Analysts had expected an unemployment rate of 6.0% in July.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD edged up 0.13% to trade at 1.3192, re-approaching Wednesday's 11-year peak of 1.3214.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.20% at 98.17, not far from Wednesday's four-month high of 98.33.