WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar suffered one of its biggest setbacks in about five weeks on Thursday as traders looked to pick up riskier currencies amid optimism the high-level negotiations between U.S. and China will result in a partial trade deal between the world's two largest economies.
Also, with the Federal Reserve's minutes hinting at more monetary easing in the foreseeable future, the dollar found the going quite tough against most major currencies.
The dollar index, which dropped to 98.62, was last seen moving around 98.70, down 0.44% from previous close.
Against the euro, the dollar was down more than 0.3% at 1.1006, compared to previous close of 1.0970. Earlier in the day, the euro rose to $1.1035, a near three-week high.
The minutes from the European Central Bank's September policy meeting showed opposition from several policy makers about restarting the quantitative easing program.
There was disagreement on the size and instruments included in the stimulus package. But all members agreed on the need to act in response to the continued shortfall of inflation and that a clear majority of members supported the proposed measures.
While a few members expressed a readiness to lower the deposit facility rate by 20 basis points, other members opposed a reduction of 10 basis points on concerns about its possible adverse side effects.
Against pound sterling, the dollar weakened by nearly 2% to 1.2445. In economic news, The UK economy expanded in three months to August for the second consecutive time suggesting that it is on the course to avoid a recession ahead of Brexit.
The Japanese yen was down 0.35% at 107.86 a dollar, as against 107.48 on Wednesday evening.
The dollar shed about 0.5% against the Aussie, with the AUD-USD pair changing hands at 0.6760.
Against the loonie, the dollar was down more than 0.25% at 1.3295, while against Swiss franc, it edged up marginally to 0.9967.
In U.S. economic news, data from the Labor Department said the consumer price index was unchanged in September after inching up by 0.1% in August. Economists had expected another 0.1% uptick.
Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices crept up by 0.1% in September after rising by 0.3% for three straight months. Core prices had been expected to rise by 0.2%.
Another report from the Labor Department said initial jobless claims dropped to 210,000 in the week ended October 5th, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's revised level of 220,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to come in unchanged compared to the 219,000 originally reported for the previous week.
On the trade front, U.S. President Donald Trump revealed he plans to meet with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He as part of high-level U.S.-China trade talks.
'Big day of negotiations with China. They want to make a deal, but do I? I meet with the Vice Premier tomorrow at The White House,' Trump tweeted.
Meanwhile, Liu told Chinese state-run media Xinhua the Chinese delegation has come to the talks with 'great sincerity and is willing to make serious exchanges with the U.S. on issues of common concern.'
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