Investing.com - The dollar continued to hover near 11-month highs against the other major currencies on Thursday, as positive U.S. jobless claims lent further support to the greenback and as concerns over the outlook for growth in the euro zone still weighed on market sentiment.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending August 2 decreased by 14,000 to 289,000 from the previous week’s total of 303,000.
Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 2,000 to 305,000 last week.
EUR/USD slipped 0.24% to 1.3349, holding just above Wednesday’s nine-month lows of 1.3332.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the bank still expects a "moderate" and "uneven" economic recovery in the euro area and acknowledged that there has been a slowing down in growth momentum.
The ECB kept its main refinancing rate at 0.15% earlier Thursday, in a widely anticipated decision.
Mr. Draghi said interest rates will remain at present levels "for an extended period of time" and reiterated that the bank was still committed to using unconventional measures if the outlook deteriorates.
Earlier Thursday, official data showed that German industrial output rose just 0.3% in June, undershooting expectations for growth of 1.3%.
The pound edged lower, with GBP/USD slipping 0.10% to 1.6838 after the Bank of England said it was maintaining the benchmark interest rate at 0.50% and that the stock of asset purchases financed by the issuance of central bank reserves will remain at £375 billion.
The dollar was higher against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY rising 0.19% to 102.30 and with USD/CHF adding 0.22% to 0.9096.
The Australian dollar was sharply lower, with AUD/USD down 0.87% to a two-month low of 0.9273 after official data on Thursday showed that jobs growth slowed in July.
The Australian economy shed 300 last month, confounding expectations for an increase of 12,000.
Elsewhere, NZD/USD eased up 0.04% to 0.8481 and USD/CAD inched down 0.06% to 1.0909.
In Canada, the Ivey purchasing managers' index rose to 54.1 last month, from a reading of 46.9 in June, exceeding expectations for an increase to 53.0.
A separate report showed that Canada's building permits rose 13.5% in June, confounding expectations for a 1.8% decline. Building permits for May were revised to a 15.4% gain from a previously estimated 13.8% rise.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.20% to 81.65 not far from Wednesday’s 11-month highs of 81.78.