Investing.com –
Investing.com – The dollar remained lower against the other major currencies on Thursday, after upbeat U.S. jobless claims data and a disappointing U.S. trade balance report as market sentiment remained broadly supported.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending January 31 increased by 11,000 to 278,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 267,000.
Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to rise by 23,000 to 290,000 last week.
A separate report showed that the U.S. trade deficit widened to $ 46.56 billion in December from $ 39.75 billion in November, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of $ 39.00 billion. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to narrow to $ 38.00 billion in December.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.65% to 93.97.
EUR/USD climbed 0.71% to 1.1431, off session lows of 1.1304.
The euro came under pressure earlier, as the European Central Bank said it would no longer accept Greek bonds as collateral for lending, shifting the burden on to Greece’s central bank to provide additional liquidity for its lenders and increasing pressure on Athens.
Greece’s government is seeking debt relief on its current €240 billion bailout, which has fuelled fears over a clash with its creditors that could bring about its eventual exit from the euro zone.
Also Thursday, data showed that German factory orders rose 4.2% in December, exceeding expectations for a 1.5% gain, after a 2.4% fall in November.
The pound was higher against the dollar, with GBP/USD up 0.82% to 1.5307.
Industry data earlier showed that U.K. house price inflation rose 2.0% in January, beating expectations for a 0.1% uptick. December’s figure was revised to a 1.1% increase from a previously estimated 0.9% gain.
Elsewhere, USD/CHF held steady at 0.9260, while USD/JPY edged up 0.13% to 117.43.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars remained higher, with AUD/USD advancing 0.92% to 0.7823 and NZD/USD up 0.63% to 0.7414.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics earlier reported that retail sales rose 0.2% in December, disappointing expectations for an increase of 0.4%, after a 0.1% uptick the previous month.
The Canadian dollar continued to gain ground, with USD/CAD retreating 0.83% to 1.2468.
Statistics Canada said the country’s trade deficit widened to C$ 0.65 billion in December from C$ 0.34 billion in November, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of C$ 0.64 billion. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to widen to C$ 1.00 billion in December.
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