Investing.com - The U.S. dollar extended early morning losses against major currencies on Thursday, as the latest U.S. employment figures signaled that the labor market continues to tighten.
The U.S. Department of Labor said initial jobless claims increased by 5,000 to 239,000 in the week ending February 11 from the previous week’s total of 234,000. Analysts expected jobless claims to rise by 11,000 to 245,000 last week.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, traded at 100.60, down 0.47%, and is on course for its second day of losses.
The fall in the U.S. dollar comes against the backdrop of reinvigorated hopes of a March rate hike, after Fed Chair Janet Yellen, in her testimony to congress on Wednesday, hinted that more interest rate increases were on the way, as the US economy is “coming close to achieving Fed mandates”.
Elsewhere GBP/USD traded close to session lows of $1.2523, set in overnight trade as market participants' look ahead to UK retail sales, expected on Friday at 09:30 GMT. GBP/USD traded at $1.2472 up around 0.10%.
The yen gained against the dollar, with USD/JPY down around 0.67% at 113.68 at 12:46 ET.
The Euro looks set for a second straight session of gains, after it snapped a four-day losing streak in Wednesday session. EUR/USD traded at $1.0655.