WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar swung between gains and losses but mostly stayed positive on Thursday after the Chinese central bank set the midpoint for yuan above 7.00 per dollar for the fist time in more than a decade.
Data showing a modest decrease in first-time jobless claims in the U.S. also contributed to the greenback's somewhat positive display.
The dollar index, which dropped down to around 97.45 after having advanced to 97.74 early on in the day, recovered well and was last seen hovering around 97.65, gaining 0.1% over previous close.
Against the euro, the dollar strengthened to 1.1181, gaining about 0.17%, after being down at 1.1234 in early trades.
Against British Pound Sterling, the dollar gave up much of its gains and was up just marginally at 1.2138, after having strengthened to 1.2095 early on in the session.
The Japanese yen held its safe haven appeal intact, gaining significant ground against the dollar. After strengthening to 105.90, the yen retreated to 106.05, but was still up with a notable gain of about 0.2%.
The dollar exhibited weakness against the Aussie and Loonie, losing 0.7% and 0.5%, with the respective pairs trading at 0.6804 and 1.3233.
Against Swiss franc, the dollar was down marginally at 0.9750.
Against Chinese yuan, the dollar was up 0.21%, with a unit of dollar fetching 7.0452 yuan, above 7.039 midpoint fixed by the Chinese central bank.
On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department released a report unexpectedly showing a modest decrease in first-time claims for unemployment benefits in the week ended August 3rd.
The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 209,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's revised level of 217,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to come in unchanged compared to the 215,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
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