Investing.com - The dollar turned broadly higher against the other major currencies on Thursday, easing off a two-and-a-half month trough as the release of upbeat U.S. data eased concerns over the health of the economy.
The dollar trimmed losses against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.25% at 118.53, off a more than one-month low of 118.06 hit earlier in the session.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending October 10 decreased by 7,000 to 255,000 from the previous week’s total of 262,000.
Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 8,000 to 270,000.
Separately, the U.S. Commerce Department said that consumer prices fell 0.2% last month, matching forecasts and following a fall of 0.1% in August.
Year-over-year, consumer prices were flat in September, compared to expectations for a 0.1% slip.
Core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy costs, increased by 0.2%, above expectations for a gain of 0.1%.
In addition, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that its general business conditions index improved to -11.4 this month from a reading of -14.7 in September. Analysts had expected the index to rise to -8.0 in October.
EUR/USD declined 0.64% to 1.1400, pulling away from a 1-1/2 month peak of 1.1495 hit overnight.
Elsewhere, the dollar moved higher against the pound and the Swiss franc, with GBP/USD down 0.30% at 1.5430 and with USD/CHF gaining 0.34% to 0.9527.
The Australian dollar slipped lower, with AUD/USD down 0.18% to 0.7288, while NZD/USD was up 0.60% at 0.6831, after rising to three-and-a-half month highs earlier in the day.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday that the number of employed people declined by 5,100 in September, compared to expectations for an increase of 5,000.
The number of employed people rose by 18,000 in August, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated gain of 17,400.
Australia's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.2% last month, confounding expectations for an uptick to 6.3%.
Separately, the Melbourne Institute said its inflation expectations for the next 12 months rose to 3.5% in September, from 3.2% the previous month.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD was little changed at 1.2930, off a two-month low of 1.2874.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, climbed 0.63% to 94.55, after hitting the lowest level since August 26 earlier in the day.