WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar rose to a two-year high, surging to 98.37 early on Thursday, but retreated and pared its gains subsequently, weighed down by the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting that said the central bank would remain patient with regard to rate cuts for some time.
Global shares tumbled today amid concerns the U.S.-China trade conflict could turn into a technology cold war between the two countries and substantially slow down the global economy.
The dollar index dropped to 97.81 by early afternoon and was seen struggling to move higher since then.
The dollar lost significant ground against the euro, falling to $1.1189 a unit of euro, losing more than 0.3%.
Against British Pound Sterling, the dollar was up marginally at $1.2658 a sterling, after having weakened to a low of $1.2684 earlier in the session.
The Japanese yen was stronger by around 0.7% with a dollar fetching 109.60 yen. Earlier in the session, a dollar fetched 110.37 yen.
The dollar exhibited strength against the loonie, gaining 0.28% with the dollar-loonie pair at 1.3470, after having risen to 1.3503 loonie a dollar earlier.
However, the greenback was down notably against Swiss franc and the Aussie.
The USD/CHF pair was trading at 1.0033, down 0.6%. Meanwhile, the loonie was at $0.6898, up 0.23%.
In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department's report showed initial jobless claims dipped to 211,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 212,000. Economists had expected initial jobless claims to inch up to 215,000.
A separate report from the Commerce Department showed new home sales pulled back by much more than anticipated in the month of April, plunging by 6.9% to an annual rate of 673,000 in April after spiking by 8.1% to an upwardly revised rate of 723,000 in March.
Economists had expected new home sales to drop by about 2.5% to a rate of 675,000 from the 692,000 originally reported for the previous month.
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