CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar strengthened against its major counterparts in the New York session on Thursday, as a drop in jobless claims last week prompted traders to scale back their expectations for an interest rate cut in March.
Data from the Labor Department showed that initial jobless claims fell to 187,000, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week's revised level of 203,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 207,000 from the 202,000 originally reported for the previous week.
With the unexpected decline, jobless claims dropped to their lowest level since hitting 182,000 in the week ended September 24, 2022.
The data signaled resilience in the labor market and reduced the likelihood of a rate cut in March.
The greenback advanced to 1.0849 against the euro and 1.2647 against the pound, reversing from its early 2-day lows of 1.0906 and 1.2703, respectively. The next possible resistance for the currency is seen around 1.05 against the euro and 1.24 against the pound.
The greenback edged up to 148.30 against the yen and 1.3528 against the loonie, from an early low of 147.65 and a 2-day low of 1.3479, respectively. The greenback may find resistance around 151.00 against the yen and 1.37 against the loonie.
The greenback recovered to 0.6543 against the aussie and 0.6094 against the kiwi, off its early lows of 0.6574 and 0.6136, respectively. The greenback is poised to find resistance around 0.63 against the aussie and 0.59 against the kiwi.
The greenback touched 0.8689 against the franc, its highest level since December 18. The greenback is likely to find resistance around the 0.90 level.
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