WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar rose fairly sharply against peers on Thursday despite a weak batch of economic data.
While some countries in Europe have begun plans to ease lockdown restrictions following a drop in new coronavirus infections, the U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to announce guidelines for states on reopening the country later today during his daily coronavirus press briefing.
Citing encouraging developments, Trump said on Wednesday that some states could reopen before current social distancing guidelines expire on May 1st.
Trump has been eager to reopen at least some parts of the country even though health officials have warned reopening too early could lead to a spike in coronavirus infections.
Ahead of the announcement from Trump, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said his state's shutdown of non-essential businesses will be extended in coordination with other states until May 15th.
The dollar index rose to 100.30 a little past noon, rising steeply from late morning levels, and was last seen at 100.12, up 0.66% from previous close.
According to the data from the Labor Department more than 5 million filed for unemployment claims last week, although that reflects a decrease from the more than 6 million that filed for the first time in the previous week.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims dropped to 5.245 million, a decrease of 1.370 million from the previous week's revised level of 6.615 million. Economists had expected jobless claims to drop to 5.105 million from the 6.606 million originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department's report said housing starts plunged by 22.3% to an annual rate of 1.216 million in March from a revised rate of 1.564 million in February.
The Commerce Department said building permits also tumbled by 6.8% to an annual rate of 1.353 million in March from the revised February rate of 1.452 million.
A separate report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed a substantial contraction in regional manufacturing activity in the month of April.
Against the Euro, the dollar firmed up to $1.0833 from $1.0913 on Wednesday. Data from Eurostat showed that Eurozone industrial production dropped marginally in February, ahead of COVID-19 containment measures began to be widely introduced among member countries.
Industrial production fell by less-than-expected 0.1% month-on-month in February, reversing a 2.3% rise in January. Output was forecast to drop 0.2%.
The Pound Sterling was down at $1.2447, despite coming off the session's low of $1.2408. Around the time the New York session began, the sterling was quoting around $1.2500.
According to a survey from the Bank of England, British lenders expect demand and availability of corporate loans to rise in the second quarter.
In the first quarter, demand from small businesses for corporate lending decreased, whereas demand from medium businesses increased slightly. At the same time, demand from large businesses was unchanged in the first quarter.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar was up with a unit fetching 107.83 yen, as against 107.44 yen on Wednesday evening.
The dollar was modestly higher against the Aussie at 0.6309. Against the Swiss currency, it strengthened to CHF0.9703, up 0.6% from previous close.
Against the loonie, the dollar was up marginally with a unit fetching C$1.4123. Data from ADP showed private businesses in Canada shed 177,300 jobs in March 2020, following an upwardly revised 116,700 additions in the previous month. It was the biggest decline in employment on record as the coronavirus pandemic hit the economy.
Manufacturing sales in Canada were up 0.5% over a month earlier to C$56.2 billion in February 2020, rebounding from a 0.2% fall in the previous month and beating market expectations of a 0.1% decline.
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