Investing.com - The dollar slipped lower against the other major currencies on Thursday, as investors eyed the release of U.S. jobless data due later in the day, as well as the highly-anticipated nonfarm payrolls report due on Friday.
USD/JPY was little changed 112.41.
The greenback had weakened broadly after Yellen said late Tuesday that global risks to the U.S. economy, including low oil prices and uncertainty over China justified taking a cautious approach to tightening monetary policy.
Made at the Economic Club of New York, the comments contrasted with recent remarks by some Fed officials who indicated that the bank could act as soon as next month to raise interest rates.
EUR/USD rose 0.27% to trade at 1.1369.
Data on Thursday showed that consumer prices fell 0.1% in March in line with forecasts, after falling 0.2% in February.
The dollar was little changed against the pound, with GBP/USD at 1.4376 and was lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF shedding 0.22% to 0.9628.
The U.K. Office of National Statistics said on Thursday that gross domestic product rose by 0.6% in the three months to December, up from last month’s estimate of 0.5% growth. Economists had expected no change.
The U.K. economy expanded 2.1% on a year-over-year basis, better than the initial estimate of 1.9%. Again, economists had expected an unchanged reading.
Another report showed that the U.K. current account deficit widened to £32.7 billion in the fourth quarter, the equivalent to 7% of gross domestic product. Economists had expected a deficit of £21.1 billion.
The weak current account data highlighted concerns that the upcoming June 23 referendum on Britain’s European Union membership could hit investment income, leading the gap to widen.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar was fractionally higher, with AUD/USD up 0.09% at 0.7677, still near Wednesday’s eight-month peak of 0.7706. NZD/USD was little changed at 0.6923, after hitting a nine-month high of 0.6963 on Wednesday.
USD/CAD eased 0.08% to trade at 1.2953.
The commodity currencies remained under pressure as oil prices moved lower after data showing that U.S. stockpiles rose to a record-high last week sparked fresh concerns over a supply glut.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.15% at 94.65, near the previous session’s five-month low of 94.56.