Investing.com - The dollar pushed lower against the other major currencies on Thursday, after the release of disappointing U.S. data dampened optimism over the strength of the economy.
The dollar was steady against the yen, with USD/JPY at 120.09.
The U.S. National Association of Realtors said its pending home sales index dropped 2.3% last month, disappointing expectations for a gain of 1.0%. Pending home sales in August fell by 1.4%, whose figure was revised from a previously reported drop of 1.4%.
The data came after the Commerce Department said U.S. gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 1.5% in the three months to September, missing expectations for growth of 1.6%. The U.S. economy grew 3.9% in the previous quarter.
Separately, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending October 24 increased by 1,000 to 260,000 from the previous week’s total of 259,000. Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 4,000 to 263,000.
The dollar had strengthened broadly after Wednesday’s Federal Reserve statement said that officials might make a decision to raise interest rates at their December meeting.
The central bank kept rates on hold at its September meeting amid fears that a China-led slowdown in global growth could affect the U.S. economy.
EUR/USD climbed 0.45% to trade at 1.0971.
The single currency found some support after data earlier showed that the number of unemployed people in Germany decreased by 5,000 this month, better than expectations for a drop of 4,000.
Elsewhere, the dollar was lower against the pound and the Swiss franc, with GBP/USD rising 0.19% to 1.5295 and with USD/CHF dropping 0.40% to 0.9903.
Markets shrugged off a report by the Bank of England on Thursday showing that total net lending to individuals increased by ₤4.9 billion last month, above forecasts for ₤4.4 billion and up from ₤4.7 billion in August.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.46% at 0.7085 and with NZD/USD sliding 0.37% to 0.6677.
Earlier Thursday, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand left its benchmark interest rate on hold at 2.75%, in a widely expected move.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD fell 0.22% to trade at 1.3164.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.28% at 97.41, still close to Wednesday's two-and-a-half month highs of 97.89.