WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar stayed weak for much of the day's session till well past noon on Thursday, weighed down by the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's reiteration that interest rates will remain near-zero level for the foreseeable future.
However, the currency found some support past mid afternoon and turned in a mixed performance against other major currencies.
A report released by the Labor Department showed initial jobless claims tumbled to 730,000, in the week ended February 20th, a decrease of 111,000 from the previous week's revised level of 841,000.
According to a report from the Commerce Department, new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods spiked by much more than expected in the month of January, soaring 3.4% after jumping by an upwardly revised 1.2% in December.
Revised data released by the Commerce Department showed U.S. gross domestic product jumped 4.1% in the fourth quarter, compared to previously reported 4.0% spike.
The dollar index, which slid to 89.68, rallied to 90.29 later on, and was last seen at 90.24, up 0.07% from previous close.
Against the Euro, the dollar was slightly weak at 1.2176, despite having recovered well from 1.2243 a unit of Euro. Survey results from the European Commission showed that Eurozone economic confidence improved to a one-year high in February on rising sentiment in industry, services and among consumers, reflecting the easing of strict restrictions related to Covid-19 pandemic.
The economic sentiment index rose more-than-expected to 93.4 from 91.5 in the previous month. The score was forecast to climb to 92 in February
The Pound Sterling slid against the greenback, and was fetching $1.4010 a unit, nearly 1% down from previous close of $1.4141. Business optimism improved among U.K. business and professional services in the three months to February, while morale weakened in consumer services, the latest quarterly Service Sector Survey from the Confederation of British Industry showed.
The Yen firmed up to 106.24, gaining nearly 0.4%.
The AUD-USD was at 0.7878, giving the dollar a gain of about 1.1%.
The Swiss franc firmed up to 0.9051 from 0.9065, while the Loonie fell to 1.2606, giving up about 0.75%.
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