WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar turned in a subdued performance on Thursday despite some strong economic data, and prospects of the Federal Reserve holding interest rates higher in the near-term.
Data released by the Labor Department showed initial jobless claims fell to 201,000 in the week ended February 17th, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level of 213,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 218,000 from the 213,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released a report showing a significant rebound in existing home sales in the month of January.
NAR said existing home sales jumped by 3.1% to an annual rate of 4.00 million in January after falling by 0.8% to a revised rate of 3.88 million in December.
Economists had expected existing home sales to surge by 5% to a rate of 3.97 million from the 3.78 million originally reported for the previous month.
The dollar index, which dropped to 103.43 in the Asian session, recovered to 104.13 around mid morning, but struggled to hold above the flat line. It was last seen at 103.95, down marginally from the previous close.
Against the Euro, the dollar was down slightly at 1.0823, recovering from 1.0891 a unit of the European currency.
The dollar weakened to 1.2662 against Pound Sterling. Against the Japanese currency, the dollar firmed to 150.53 yen.
The dollar was slightly weak against the Aussie at 0.6559. Against Swiss franc, the dollar gained marginally, advancing to CHF 0.8803, and against the Loonie, it weakened to C$ 1.3483.
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