Investing.com - The dollar eased off session lows and remained within close distance of a 14-year peak against the other majors currencies on Thursday, as strong U.S. data boosted optimism over the strength of the economy.
EUR/USD was up 0.13% at 1.0704, off Wednesday’s 11-month trough of 1.0663.
The U.S. Department of Labor said initial jobless claims in the week ending November 12 fell by 19,000 to 235,000 from the previous week’s total of 254,000. It was the lowest level since 1973.
Analysts expected jobless claims to rise by 3,000 to 257,000 last week.
Separately, the Commerce Department said housing starts surged 25% in October to hit 1.323 million units, compared tp expectations for a rise of 7.0%.
U.S. building permits rose 0.3% last month to 1.229 million units, beating expectations for a 2.9% decline.
Data also showed that U.S. consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, in line with expectations. Year-over-year, consumer prices increased by 1.6% last month, its highest reading since October 2014.
Core CPI, which excludes food and energy costs, increased 0.1% last month, below forecasts for a 0.2% rise.
On a less positive note, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve said its manufacturing index fell to 7.6 this month from 9.7 in October, confounding expectations for a reading of 8.0.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD held steady at 1.2445 after the U.K. Office for National Statistics reported that retail sales increased 1.9% in October, compared to expectations for a 0.4% rise.
Year-on-year, retail sales climbed 7.4% last month, beating expectations for a 5.3% rise.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales and fuel, gained 2.0% in October, above expectations for an increase of 0.4%.
USD/JPY gained 0.34% to 109.44, just off Wednesday’s five-month high of 109.76, while USD/CHF was little changed at 1.0024.
The Australian dollar was still weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.28% at 0.7458, while NZD/USD held steady at 0.7067.
Earlier Thursday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said the number of employed people increased by 9,800 in October, disappointing expectations for a 20,000 gain.
The report also showed that Australia’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.6% last month, in line with expectations.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD slipped 0.14% to trade at 1.3429.
Statistics Canada reported that foreign securities purchases rose by C$11.77 billion in September, disappointing expectations for an increase of C$12.20 billion.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 100.42, off earlier lows of 99.99 and very close to Wednesday’s 14-year peak of 100.60.