Investing.com - The dollar turned broadly higher against the other major currencies on Thursday, supported by positive U.S. economic reports, although data showing that the recovery in the euro zone private sector continued in May still lent some support to the single currency.
The dollar was higher against the yen, with USD/JPY rising 0.26% to 101.65.
The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales increased 1.3% in April to an annual rate of 4.65 million units.
While analysts had expected existing home sales to rise 2.2% to 4.68 million last month, the increase indicated that the housing market is regaining momentum.
A separate report showed that U.S. manufacturing activity expanded at a faster rate than expected this month. Markit said that its preliminary U.S. manufacturing index rose to 56.2 from a final reading of 55.4 in April, and ahead of expectations of 55.5.
The data came after the Labor Department reported that the number of people filing for initial jobless benefits last week increased by 28,000 to 326,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 298,000. Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 12,000 to 310,000.
Market sentiment found support earlier, after data showed that the preliminary reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing index rose to a five month high of 49.7 this month, up from a final reading 49.4 in April, but still remained below the 50 level separating contraction from expansion.
The dollar was also higher against the euro, with EUR/USD slipping 0.21% to 1.3657.
The euro found support after data showed that the recovery in the euro zone private sector continued in May. Manufacturing activity in the euro zone expanded at the slowest rate in six months, but the region’s service sector expanded at the fastest rate in almost three years.
Germany’s private sector continued to grow strongly this month but the French private sector fell back into contraction territory.
The pound slid lower against the dollar, with GBP/USD shedding 0.27% to 1.6856. The drop in the pound came after data on Thursday confirmed that the U.K. economy grew 0.8% in the first three months of the year, disappointing some market expectations for an upward revision.
The dollar edged higher unchanged against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.10% at 0.8941.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were steady to lower, with AUD/USD easing 0.09% to 0.9242 and NZD/USD dipping 0.01% to 0.8573. USD/CAD was down 0.16% at 1.0896.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged up 0.19% to 80.27.