The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, touched its highest level in nearly a month above 102.80 in the European session before retreating to the 102.50 area, and fell 0.04 percent to 102.5432 in late trading.
The U.S. Labor Department reported on Thursday that the number of initial unemployment benefit applications increased to 227,000 in the week ending July 29, up 6,000 from the previous week. A more comprehensive jobs data report is to be released Friday.
Additionally, Unit Labor Costs saw a rise of 1.6 percent in the second quarter, following a 3.3-percent increase in the first quarter, which was much lower than the market's expectation of 2.6 percent.
Other economic data indicated that the expansion of economic activity in the U.S. service sector continued in July, although at a slower pace compared to June.
The purchasing managers' index (PMI) declined to 52.7 from 53.9 in July, below the market forecast of 53, according to the ISM Services on Thursday.
Further details from the report showed that the Employment Index slightly decreased to 50.7 last month from 53.1 in June, while the Prices Paid Index (PPI) climbed to 56.8 from 54.1, indicating rising pressures on input prices.
According to the HCOB, the composite PMI in the euro area decreased to 48.60 points in July from 49.90 points in June, dropping to an eight-month low. Services PMI fell to 50.90 points in July from 52 points the previous month.
In late New York trading, the euro was up to 1.0944 U.S. dollars from 1.0943 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound was down to 1.2701 U.S. dollars from 1.2721 dollars.
The U.S. dollar bought 142.7030 Japanese yen, lower than 143.2550 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar was down to 0.8751 Swiss francs from 0.8772 Swiss francs, and it increased to 1.3354 Canadian dollars from 1.3342 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar decreased to 10.7100 Swedish krona from 10.7123 Swedish krona.
Latest comments