Investing.com - The greenback was steady on Thursday as jobless claims data showed the government shutdown has yet to have an impact on jobs.
The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. hit its lowest level in five weeks, despite 27 days of a government shutdown which has furloughed 800,000 federal workers.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.11% to 95.77 as of 10:16 AM ET (15:16 GMT). The currency remain subdued after recent comments by Federal Reserve officials suggesting further interest rates are unlikely in the next few months.
The Fed will hold its next policy-setting meeting on Jan. 29-30.
The loonie was lower against the dollar, with USD/CAD rising 0.3% to 1.3294, as analysts expect the Bank of Canada to delay interest rate hikes until April, Reuters reported.
"The Fed's on hold, and Canada and the U.S. really don't have any meaningful inflation pressure. There is just no rush for the Bank to be really more aggressive with rates and that's what they have signaled," said Benjamin Reitzes, Canadian rates and macro strategist at BMO Capital Markets.
The yen, typically sought by investors as a safe haven during times of economic or market stress, was a touch lower against the dollar, with USD/JPY slipping 0.13% to 108.92.
Meanwhile sterling was a touch higher after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May survived a vote of no confidence in her government. GBP/USD was up 0.2% to 1.2905.
The euro dipped, with EUR/USD falling 0.08% to 1.1387.