Investing.com - The dollar trimmed losses against the other majors currencies on Thursday, after the release of strong U.S. economic growth data, although the weekly jobless claims report disappointed market expectations.
Trading volumes were expected to be thin this week as traders were beginning to unwind positions ahead of the Christmas holiday.
EUR/USD was up 0.17% at 1.0445, off Tuesday’s fresh 14-year low of 1.0349.
The U.S. Commerce Department said gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 3.5% in the three months ended September 30, up from a previous estimate of 3.2% and above expectations for a reading of 3.3%.
Preliminary data pegged U.S. growth at 2.9% in the third quarter. The U.S. economy grew 1.4% in the second quarter.
Another report showed that U.S. durable goods orders dropped 4.6% in November, compared to expectations for a 4.7% decline. Core durable goods orders, which exclude transportation items, rose 0.5%, beating expectations for an uptick of 0.2%.
On a less positive note, the U.S. Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose by 21,000 to 275,000 in the week ending December 16 from the previous week’s total of 254,000.
Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 2,000 last week.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD slipped 0.15% to 1.2333, still close to Tuesday’s one-month low of 1.2310.
USD/JPY added 0.15% to 117.74, while USD/CHF shed 0.19% to 1.0250.
The Australian dollar was weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.25% at 0.7215, while NZD/USD held steady at 0.6900.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD gained 0.64% to trade at 1.3498.
Statistics Canada reported on Thursday that retail sales increased 1.1% in October, exceeding expectations for a 0.2% rise. Core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, gained 1.4% in October, beating expectations for a 0.7% gain.
Another report showed that Canada’s consumer price index slipped 0.4% last month, compared to expectations for a 0.2% fall. Year-on-year, consumer prices increased 1.2% in November, below expectations for a 1.4% rise.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 103.06, off session lows of 102.78 and still close to Tuesday’s fresh 14-year highs of 103.62.