WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar gained some ground against its major rivals on Thursday, rebounding from recent losses, after data showed an acceleration in U.S. producer inflation and a drop in jobless claims.
Data from the Labor Department showed U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in the month of July, surging up by 1%, matching the jump seen in the previous month. Economists had expected producer prices to climb by 0.6%.
With the bigger than expected monthly increase, the annual rate of growth in producer prices accelerated to 7.8% in July from 7.3% in June.
The year-over-year spike in producer prices reflected the largest advance since 12-month data were first calculated in November 2010.
Data from the Labor Department showed that U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in the month of July.
the Labor Department's data showed initial jobless claims in the U.S. edged down to 375,000 in the week ended August 7th, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level of 387,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 375,000 from the 385,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The dollar index, which dropped to 92.92 after advancing to 93.04, gradually moved higher again and was last seen hovering around 93.00, up marginally from the previous close.
Against the Euro, the dollar gained marginally at $1.1736. Eurozone industrial production declined at a slower pace in June, data published by Eurostat showed.
Industrial output was down 0.3% month-on-month, slower than the 1.1% decrease seen in May. This was the second consecutive fall. Economists had forecast a monthly drop of 0.2%.
On a yearly basis, industrial production growth eased to 9.7% in June from 20.6% in May.
The dollar firmed to $1.3896 against Pound Sterling, rising from $1.3869. The U.K. economy recovered strongly in the second quarter, following the easing of coronavirus restrictions, the first quarterly estimates from the Office for National Statistics revealed.
Gross domestic product grew 4.8% sequentially in the second quarter, reversing a 1.6% fall in the first quarter. The rate matched economists' expectations. Nonetheless, the level of GDP was 4.4% below its pre-pandemic level.
Against the Yen, the dollar is little changed at 110.44 yen. Producer prices in Japan were up 5.6% on year in July, the Bank of Japan said on Thursday - well above expectations for 5%, which would have been unchanged from the June reading.
On a monthly basis, producer prices spiked 1.1% - again well above estimates for 0.5% and up from 0.6% in the previous month.
The dollar is firmer at 0.7337 against the Aussie, gaining from Wednesday's close of 0.7374. Australia's consumer confidence weakened in August as the spread of the coronavirus situation locally is weighing on expectations, survey data from Westpac showed.
Against Swiss franc, the dollar is quoting at CHF0.9234, up from the previous close of CHF0.9218.
The Loonie weakened to 1.1525 against the dollar, easing from 1.2507.
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