Investing.com - The U.S. dollar inched up on Thursday as jobless claims came in higher than expected and traders held onto hope that the U.S. and China can avoid escalating trade tensions.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.1% to 95.790 by 11:11 AM ET (15:11 GMT).
Initial jobless claims rose 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 227,000 for the week ending June 22, the Labor Department said. Economists were looking for a smaller rise to 220,000.
Meanwhile, the dollar was flat against the safe-haven Japanese yen, with USD/JPY at 107.80, as investors wait for U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to meet Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
The South China Morning Post reported the two have agreed to a truce ahead of the meeting, while The Wall Street Journal reported that Xi is expected to present Trump with a list of demands, including lifting the ban on U.S. companies selling to Huawei.
Elsewhere, the euro was flat, with EUR/USD at 1.1363, while GBP/USD slipped 0.2% to 1.2665 and USD/CAD fell 0.1% to 1.3110.