Investing.com - The dollar was steady at one month lows against the euro on Wednesday and almost six month highs against the yen after reports showed that U.S. initial jobless claims fell unexpectedly last week and durable goods orders fell more than expected in October.
During European afternoon trade, USD/JPY was up 0.50% to 101.77, just below Monday’s six month peak if 101.91.
The Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week declined by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 316,000. Economists had forecast an increase of 4,000.
A separate report showed that U.S. durable goods orders fell 2% in October, worse than expectations for a 1.9% decline, while core durable goods orders were down 0.1%, compared to expectations for a 0.5% increase.
The mixed data did little to shift expectations that the Federal Reserve will start to taper its stimulus program at one of its next few meetings, while trade volumes remained thin ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.
The yen remained broadly weaker amid heightened expectations that the Bank of Japan will implement more easing measures next year.
Earlier Wednesday, BoJ board member Sayuri Shirai raised doubts over whether the bank’s target of 2% inflation can be reached by 2015 because of downside risks to growth.
Elsewhere, EUR/USD was up 0.22% to 1.3601, the highest level since October 31.
The euro was boosted after data on Wednesday showed that the forward looking Gfk index of German consumer climate rose to a six year high of 7.4 for December from 7.1 in November.
The pound was trading at 10-month highs against the dollar, with GBP/USD rising 0.58% to 1.6309.
Sterling advanced after the second estimate of U.K. third-quarter gross domestic product was unchanged at 0.8% quarter-on-quarter on Wednesday, while the annual rate of growth was also unchanged at 1.5%. It was the fastest quarterly rate of growth in over three years.
The dollar edged lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF slipping 0.14% to trade at 0.9050.
The greenback pushed higher against the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, with AUD/USD down 0.33% to 0.9093, NZD/USD losing 0.23% to trade at 0.8174 and USD/CAD rising 0.32% to 1.0573.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged down 0.09% to 80.56.
The U.S. was to release data on manufacturing activity in the Chicago area later Wednesday.
During European afternoon trade, USD/JPY was up 0.50% to 101.77, just below Monday’s six month peak if 101.91.
The Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week declined by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 316,000. Economists had forecast an increase of 4,000.
A separate report showed that U.S. durable goods orders fell 2% in October, worse than expectations for a 1.9% decline, while core durable goods orders were down 0.1%, compared to expectations for a 0.5% increase.
The mixed data did little to shift expectations that the Federal Reserve will start to taper its stimulus program at one of its next few meetings, while trade volumes remained thin ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.
The yen remained broadly weaker amid heightened expectations that the Bank of Japan will implement more easing measures next year.
Earlier Wednesday, BoJ board member Sayuri Shirai raised doubts over whether the bank’s target of 2% inflation can be reached by 2015 because of downside risks to growth.
Elsewhere, EUR/USD was up 0.22% to 1.3601, the highest level since October 31.
The euro was boosted after data on Wednesday showed that the forward looking Gfk index of German consumer climate rose to a six year high of 7.4 for December from 7.1 in November.
The pound was trading at 10-month highs against the dollar, with GBP/USD rising 0.58% to 1.6309.
Sterling advanced after the second estimate of U.K. third-quarter gross domestic product was unchanged at 0.8% quarter-on-quarter on Wednesday, while the annual rate of growth was also unchanged at 1.5%. It was the fastest quarterly rate of growth in over three years.
The dollar edged lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF slipping 0.14% to trade at 0.9050.
The greenback pushed higher against the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, with AUD/USD down 0.33% to 0.9093, NZD/USD losing 0.23% to trade at 0.8174 and USD/CAD rising 0.32% to 1.0573.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged down 0.09% to 80.56.
The U.S. was to release data on manufacturing activity in the Chicago area later Wednesday.