WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar climbed higher on Thursday, as stronger than expected retail sales and jobless claims data helped ease concerns about a recession in the world's largest economy.
The data from the Commerce Department showed retail sales jumped by 1% in July after edging down by a revised 0.2% in June. Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.3% compared to the unchanged reading originally reported for the previous month.
Data from the Labor Department showed initial jobless claims fell to 227,000 in the week ended August 10th, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level of 234,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 235,000 from the 233,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Federal Reserve released a report showing industrial production in the U.S. fell by much more than expected in the month of July, dropping by 0.6%, after rising by a downwardly revised 0.3% in June. Economists had expected industrial production to dip by 0.3%.
The dollar index surged to 103.23 before easing to 103.02, but still remained well above the flat line, gaining about 0.45%.
Against the Euro, the dollar firmed to 1.0974, and against Pound Sterling, it weakened to 1.2854.
The dollar strengthened against the Japanese currency, fetching 149.13 yen a unit, about 1.2% more than Wednesday's close. Against the Aussie, the dollar traded at 0.6612, compared to previous close of 0.6598.
The Swiss franc weakened to 0.8725 against the greenback. The Loonie eased to 1.3731 a unit of the U.S. currency, from 1.3717.
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