Dollar holds steady vs. rivals after mixed U.S. data


Dollar holds steady vs. rivals after mixed U.S. data
Location: Investing.com - The dollar held steady against the other major currencies on Thursday, after the release of mixed U.S. economic reports as declining oil prices and fears of a potential British exit from the European Union continued to dominate investors’ attention. USD/JPY climbed 0.47% to 112.71. The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending February 20 increased by 10,000 to 272,000 from the previous week’s total of 262,000. Analysts expected jobless claims to rise by 8,000 to 270,000 last week. Separately, the U.S. Commerce Department said that total durable goods orders rose by 4.9% last month, blowing past forecasts for a rise of 2.5%. Core durable goods orders, which exclude volatile transportation items, increased by 1.8% in January, easily surpassing expectations for a gain of 0.2%. Meanwhile, oil prices held above $31 a barrel but concerns over a supply glut persisted after weekly stockpile data released on Wednesday showed that U.S. oil inventories rose to an all-time high last week. The dollar moved lower against the pound, with GBP/USD up 0.22% at 1.3956, still close to Wednesday’s seven-year low of 1.3875. Sterling remained under broad selling pressure as several senior members of Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative party, including London Mayor Boris Johnson, have said they will be backing the campaign to leave the EU, in a blow to his plans to remain in the bloc. Earlier Thursday, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said gross domestic product expanded by 0.5% in the first quarter, unchanged from an initial estimate and in line with expectations. The U.K. economy grew by 0.4% in the previous quarter. Year-over-year, the U.K. economy grew at a rate of 1.9% in the three months ended December 31, unchanged from a preliminary reading and also in line with forecasts. The dollar was almost unchanged against the euro, with EUR/USD at 1.1014. Data on Thursday showed that the euro zone’s consumer price inflation rose by 0.3% last month, down from a preliminary estimate of 0.4%. Month-over-month, consumer prices fell 1.4% last month, matching forecasts. Core CPI, which excludes food, energy, alcohol, and tobacco costs rose by 1.0% in January, meeting expectations and unchanged from an initial estimate. Elsewhere, USD/CHF gained 0.42% to trade at 0.9931. Meanwhile, the Australian dollar was steady, with AUD/USD at 0.7201, while NZD/USD edged up 0.29% to 0.6678. USD/CAD dropped 0.49% to a two-month low of 1.3632. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 97.53, off the previous session’s three-week high of 97.92.

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