Dollar Loses Ground Against Major Counterparts

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar drifted lower on Thursday, coming off a 10-month high, with traders digesting the latest batch of economic data and looking ahead to the personal consumption data due on Friday.

Traders were also weighing the possibility of the Japanese central bank intervening in the currency market as the yen slides toward the 150 a dollar mark.

data released by the Commerce Department showed the pace of U.S. economic growth in the second quarter of 2023 was unrevised from the previous estimate.

The report said real gross domestic product increased by 2.1% in the second quarter, unrevised from the estimate provided last month. The unrevised reading matched economist estimates.

The unrevised GDP growth in the second quarter still reflects a slight slowdown compared to the 2.2% growth in the first quarter.

A separate report released by the Labor Department showed initial jobless claims crept up to 204,000 in the week ended September 22nd, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level of 202,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 215,000 from the 201,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The dollar index touched a low of 106.02 around noon before edging up to 106.13, but is still down 0.5% from Wednesday's closing level.

Against the Euro, the dollar has eased to 1.0567, dropping from 1.0505. The dollar is weak against Pound Sterling at 1.2202.

Against the Japanese currency, the dollar weakened to 149.15 yen before regaining some lost ground. At 149.30 yen, the dollar is down nearly 0.25% from the previous close.

The dollar is trading at 0.6428 against the Aussie, easing from 0.6352. Against Swiss franc, the dollar is weak, fetching CHF 0.9152 a unit, compared to CHF 0.9213 on Wednesday. The dollar is down marginally against the Loonie at C$ 1.3486.