Investing.com - The U.S. dollar trimmed losses against the euro and extended gains against the yen on Thursday, after data showed that U.S. jobless claims hit a five-year low last week, while U.S. housing starts rose to a four-year high in December.
During European afternoon trade, the greenback was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD up 0.43% to 1.3345, off session highs of 1.3378.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week fell by 37,000 to a seasonally adjusted 335,000, compared to expectations for a decline of 7,000 to 365,000.
A separate report showed that U.S. housing starts jumped by 12.1% in December to a seasonally adjusted 0.954 million, compared to expectations for a 3.3% increase to 0.890 million.
The euro hit session highs earlier after an auction of Spanish government debt met with strong investor demand and saw borrowing costs fall.
The dollar was close to two-and-a-half-year highs against the yen, with USD/JPY rallying 1.24% to 89.46.
The yen weakened as renewed expectations for more aggressive easing steps by the Bank of Japan at next Tuesday’s policy meeting weighed.
The greenback was almost unchanged against the pound, with GBP/USD inching up 0.01% to 1.6004.
Sentiment on the pound remained fragile after a recent string of weak economic data fuelled fears that the U.K. economy slipped back into a recession in the fourth quarter.
The greenback was higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF rising 0.34% to 0.9341.
The greenback was broadly higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD dipping 0.07% to 0.9850, AUD/USD down 0.35% to 1.0534 and NZD/USD sliding 0.16% to 0.8396.
The Australian dollar came under pressure after official data showed that the Australian economy cut 5,500 jobs in December, disappointing expectations for a 4,500 increase, while the unemployment rate ticked up to 5.4% from 5.3% in November.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.08% to 79.76.
The U.S. was to release official data on manufacturing activity in Philadelphia later in the trading day.
During European afternoon trade, the greenback was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD up 0.43% to 1.3345, off session highs of 1.3378.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week fell by 37,000 to a seasonally adjusted 335,000, compared to expectations for a decline of 7,000 to 365,000.
A separate report showed that U.S. housing starts jumped by 12.1% in December to a seasonally adjusted 0.954 million, compared to expectations for a 3.3% increase to 0.890 million.
The euro hit session highs earlier after an auction of Spanish government debt met with strong investor demand and saw borrowing costs fall.
The dollar was close to two-and-a-half-year highs against the yen, with USD/JPY rallying 1.24% to 89.46.
The yen weakened as renewed expectations for more aggressive easing steps by the Bank of Japan at next Tuesday’s policy meeting weighed.
The greenback was almost unchanged against the pound, with GBP/USD inching up 0.01% to 1.6004.
Sentiment on the pound remained fragile after a recent string of weak economic data fuelled fears that the U.K. economy slipped back into a recession in the fourth quarter.
The greenback was higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF rising 0.34% to 0.9341.
The greenback was broadly higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD dipping 0.07% to 0.9850, AUD/USD down 0.35% to 1.0534 and NZD/USD sliding 0.16% to 0.8396.
The Australian dollar came under pressure after official data showed that the Australian economy cut 5,500 jobs in December, disappointing expectations for a 4,500 increase, while the unemployment rate ticked up to 5.4% from 5.3% in November.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.08% to 79.76.
The U.S. was to release official data on manufacturing activity in Philadelphia later in the trading day.