WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar was weak against most of its peers on Wednesday, reacting to recent updates on potential coronavirus vaccine and the latest batch of economic data.
According to data released by the Labor Department, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased in the week ended November 21st, climbing to 778,000, an increase of 30,000 from the previous week's revised level of 748,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to drop to 730,000 from the 742,000 originally reported for the previous week.
A report from the Commerce Department said durable goods orders jumped by 1.3% in October after spiking by 2.1% in September. Economists had expected durable goods orders to climb by 0.9%.
Another report from the Commerce Department showed the spike in gross domestic product in the third quarter was 33.1%, unrevised from the initial estimate.
Personal income in the U.S. fell by 0.7% in October after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.7% in September. Meanwhile, the report said personal spending rose by 0.5% in October after jumping by a revised 1.2% in September.
Yet another report from the same department said new home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly dipped by 0.3% to an annual rate of 999,000 in October after inching up by 0.1% to a revised rate of 1.002 million in September.
Revised data released by the University of Michigan on Wednesday showed consumer sentiment in the U.S. deteriorated by slightly more than expected in the month of November, with the index coming in at 76.9 down from a preliminary reading of 77.0.
The dollar index, which fell to a low of 91.93 in the European session, continues to trade weak despite making a couple of attempts to pare losses. At 91.99, the dollar index is now down 0.25% from previous close.
Against the Euro, the dollar weakened to $1.1914, despite firming up to $1.1883 in the Asian session.
The Pound Sterling is stronger by 0.15%, fetching $1.3383 a unit, compared to $1.3363 on Tuesday.
The Yen is little changed at 104.47 a dollar.
The Aussie is roughly flat against the greenback, with the AUD-USD pair quoting at 0.7365.
The Swiss franc is up at 0.9085 a dollar, more than 0.3% up from its previous close of 0.9113, while the Loonie is at 1.3008 a dollar, down from 1.2998.
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