WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After a higher start and a subsequent fall, the U.S. dollar rebounded around late morning Thursday and stayed steady above the unchanged line right through the afternoon.
The dollar index, which dropped to 97.50, moved to 97.92 an hour past noon, and despite paring some gains, remained in positive territory at 97.81, up 0.08% from previous close.
Chances of any aggressive monetary easing by the Federal Reserve next week probably faded after the Labor Department and the Commerce Department came out with fairly buoyant data on jobless claims and durable goods orders, respectively.
Data from the Labor Department showed initial jobless claims fell to 206,000 last week, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 216,000. The drop surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to inch up to 219,000.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also dipped to 213,000, a decrease of 5,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 218,750.
According to data released by the Commerce Department, durable goods orders spiked by 2% in June after plunging by a revised 2.3% in May. Economists had expected durable goods to climb by 0.7% compared to the 1.3% slump originally reported for the previous month.
The euro, which weakened to a low of 1.1104 after the European Central Bank signaled a rate cut and said more stimulus will be needed to support growth, rose to $1.1189 around mid morning. The currency recovered some lost ground after that and was up 0.08% at $1.1147.
The British Pound Sterling was down 0.26% at $1.2451, compared to previous close of $1.2483 and falling from a high of $1.2518.
UK retailers reported a decline in sales for the third consecutive month in July, marking the longest period of decline since 2011, survey data from the Confederation of British Industry showed Thursday.
According to monthly Distributive Trades survey, the retail sales balance fell to -16% in July from -42% in June.
Against the loonie, the dollar gained 0.13%, at 1.3159 and against Swiss franc, it was up 0.63% with the USD/CHF pair at 0.9910.
Against Aussie, the dollar was up 0.36% at 0.6952.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2019 AFX News
