Investing.com - The yen surged against the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound on Thursday, after official data showed that the number of U.S. workers filing new applications for unemployment insurance unexpectedly surged last week.
USD/JPY plummeted to 90.57 during European afternoon trade, a daily low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 90.71, shedding 0.59%.
Meanwhile, the yen hit 2-day highs against the pound and euro: GBP/JPY tumbled to 140.98 before consolidating around 141.21, dropping 1.23%, and EUR/JPY sunk to 122.76 before consolidating around 123.14, falling 0.82%.
Earlier Thursday, the U.S. Labor Department said that initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 31,000 to a seasonally adjusted 473,000 in the week ended Feb. 13. Economists had expected the number to drop to 435,000.
In a separate report, the department said its producer price index rose a seasonally adjusted 1.4% on a monthly basis in January.