Investing.com – The dollar traded higher against a basket of major currencies on Thursday as a fall in bond yields was offset by euro weakness after European Central Bank president Mario Draghi delivered a mixed press conference.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose by 0.37% to 91.39.
The US 10-year treasury yield slipped below 3% as a plunge in the 10-year treasury price - which trades inversely to the yield - over recent sessions attracted a wave of buying.
Higher bond yields had boosted the dollar to multi-month highs this week as investors bet on a faster pace of Federal Reserve rate hikes amid optimism on sustained inflation and economic growth.
A plunge in the euro, however, kept the dollar rally intact after European Central Bank president Mario Draghi delivered a mixed message on the Eurozone economy.
Following the European Central Bank’s widely expected decision to leave monetary policy unchanged, Draghi admitted that the pace of the Eurozone recovery had moderated broadly across all countries but reaffirmed his confidence that inflation would eventually hit the bank’s target.
EUR/USD fell 0.39% to $1.2113.
The dollar was also boosted by mostly positive economic data as jobless claims and the advance goods trade balance topped expectations while durable goods fell short.
The Commerce Department said on Wednesday Core Durable Goods Orders rose 0.00% last month, missing economist forecast for a 0.5% rise.
Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, fell 0.1% last month after an downwardly revised 0.9% in February.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that initial jobless claims dropped by 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 209,000 for the week ended April 20, beating economists’ forecast for a drop to 230,000.
GBP/USD traded flat at $1.3927, while USD/CAD rose 0.16% to C$1.2864.
USD/JPY fell 0.16% to 109.25 ahead of the eagerly awaited Bank of Japan monetary policy decision and press conference from BoJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda.
Kuroda is expected to reaffirm that the central bank remains committed to supporting ultra-loose policy given risks to the inflation outlook.