WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar retreated after a minor uptick in the Asian session on Thursday, but recovered losses and remained steady as its safe-haven appeal largely stayed intact as the continued surge in coronavirus cases raised uncertainty about economic recovery.
Riskier assets such as equities tumbled on growth worries treasury yields in the U.S. and Europe fell as coronavirus cases continued to rise.
On the data front, a report from the Labor Department showed initial jobless claims fell to 709,000, a decrease of 48,000 from the previous week's revised level of 757,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 735,000 from the 751,000 originally reported for the previous week.
A separate report released by the Labor Department showed consumer prices came in flat in the month of October. The report said its consumer price index was unchanged in October after rising by 0.2% in September. Economists had expected another 0.2% uptick.
The dollar index, which fell to 92.78 from 93.15, recovered subsequently and was last seen at 92.97, down 0.08% from previous close.
Against the Euro, the dollar was weaker by about 0.25% at $1.1808. Eurozone industrial production declined for the first time in five months in September, Eurostat reported. Industrial output fell unexpectedly by 0.4% in September from August, when it was up 0.6%. Production was forecast to climb 0.7%. This was the first fall since April.
The Pound Sterling was weak, fetching $1.3117 per unit, compared to $1.3226 Wednesday evening. A government report showed the U.K. economy grew by a slower than expected pace in September from August, even before the latest restrictions on businesses.
The UK economy is set to shrink 12% in November due to the second lockdown to tackle the resurgence in the coronavirus pandemic, but rebound strongly next month, the National Institute for Economic and Social Research said.
The Yen was stronger at 105.12 a dollar, firming up from 105.43. Japan's core machinery orders declined 4.4% on a monthly basis, in contrast to a 0.2% rise in August. This was the first decrease in three months and worse than economists' forecast of a 0.7% drop. Year-on-year, core machinery orders were down 11.5% versus an expected fall of 11.6%.
The Aussie was weaker against the greenback, with the AUD-USD pair at 0.7231, compared to 0.7281 yesterday.
The Swiss franc gained against the dollar, as it firmed up to 0.9152 from 0.9173, while the Loonie was weak at 1.3142 a unit of greenback, giving up about 0.6% from 1.3063.
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