Investing.com - The euro rose against the dollar on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen told Congress that recent U.S. economic indicators have looked weak, while disappointing weekly jobless claims data also softened the greenback.
In U.S. trading, EUR/USD was trading at 1.3712, up 0.19%, up from a session low of 1.3643 and off a high of 1.3716.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3643, the session low, and resistance at 1.3773, Monday's high.
Speaking before the Senate banking committee, Yellen told lawmakers it was hard to say how much soft data this year was due to rough winter weather and added that the bank would remain attentive to signals on whether the recovery is progressing in line with expectations.
Recent manufacturing, jobs and other economic indicators have disappointed markets repeatedly in recent weeks, though uncertainty over the influence a string of winter storms may have had on commerce has fueled uncertainty in currency and other markets.
Her comments softened the dollar by clouding expectations as to how slowly the Fed will taper its monthly bond-buying program, which weakens the dollar by suppressing long-term interest rates to spur recovery.
Also softening the dollar, weekly data revealed that the number of individuals filing for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week rose more than expected.
The Labor Department said the number of people filing for initial jobless benefits rose by 14,000 to 348,000 from the previous week’s total of 334,000. Analysts had expected an increase of just 1,000, and the numbers rekindled expectations for a very gradual tapering of Fed asset purchases.
Also on Thursday, the Commerce Department reported that U.S. durable goods orders declined by a seasonally adjusted 1% last month, less than expectations for a 1.5% drop.
Core durable goods orders, excluding volatile transportation items, rose 1.1% in January, the largest increase since May, confounding forecasts for a 0.3% decline, which gave the dollar some support.
Across the Atlantic, official data showed that Germany's on-year consumer price index slowed to 1.2% in February from 1.3% in January. Analysts were expecting the rate to remain unchanged.
German consumer prices rose 0.5% in February from a month earlier, missing forecasts for a gain of 0.6%.
The lackluster data added to concerns over the threat of deflation in the region, ahead of euro zone inflation data for February, due for release on Friday.
Also Thursday, data confirmed that Spain’s economy grew 0.2% in the fourth quarter, below the initial estimate for 0.3% growth.
A separate report showed that lending to households and firms in the euro zone fell in for a second month in January.
The euro was up against the pound, with EUR/GBP rising 0.10% to 0.8218, and flat against the yen, with EUR/JPY trading at 140.11.
On Friday, the euro zone is to release preliminary data on consumer inflation and a separate report on the unemployment rate across the currency bloc. Germany is to publish data on retail sales.
The U.S. is to round up the week with revised data on fourth quarter growth, a report on manufacturing activity in the Chicago region, revised data on consumer sentiment and private sector data on pending home sales.