Forexpros – The U.S. dollar was broadly higher against its major counterparts on Thursday, following the release of mixed U.S. economic data, while concerns over Spain’s high borrowing costs supported safe haven demand.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.37% to hit 1.3266.
The Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the U.S. fell by 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 359,000 last week, the lowest level since April 2008, but less than expectations for a decline to 350,000.
The previous week’s figure was revised up to 364,000 from 348,000.
A separate report showed that the U.S. economy grew by 0.3% during the final three months of 2011, unchanged from a preliminary estimate.
Sentiment on the euro remained downbeat on the back of concerns over high Spanish borrowing costs ahead of the government’s budget statement on Friday, amid fears that the government will fail to implement harsh austerity measures to slash the country’s deficit, in the face of public unrest and a looming recession.
The greenback was slightly lower against the pound, with GBP/USD easing up 0.14% to hit 1.5907.
The Bank of England said earlier that U.K. mortgage approvals fell to their lowest level in more than eight months in February, falling to 48,986 down from 57,899 the previous month.
A separate report showed that U.K. house prices posted the largest monthly decline in more than two years this month.
The greenback was lower against the yen but pushed higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY falling 0.75% to hit 82.27 and USD/CHF adding 0.33% to hit 0.9081.
The yen firmed up as Japanese companies moved to repatriate overseas earnings before the end of Japan’s fiscal year on March 31.
Meanwhile, official data showed that retail sales in Japan rose more-than-expected in February, adding 3.5% after a 1.8% increase the previous month.
Elsewhere, the greenback gained ground against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD climbing 0.13% to hit 0.9996, AUD/USD shedding 0.55% to hit 1.0330 and NZD/USD down 0.39% to hit 0.8135.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, eased up 0.17% to hit 79.43.
Earlier Thursday, official data showed that the number of unemployed people in Germany fell more-than-expected in March, while the country’s jobless rate dropped to a record low of 6.7%, indicating that the region’s largest economy is shrugging off the effects of the debt crisis.
Meanwhile, investors continued to look ahead to a meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Friday, amid expectations that they would agree on a larger debt firewall to combat the debt crisis in the region.
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