U.S. Dollar Firms As Jobless Claims Fall Unexpectedly

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar climbed against its major counterparts in the New York session on Thursday, as a drop in weekly jobless claims suggested that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to rush to lower rates.

Data from the Labor Department showed that initial jobless claims fell to 201,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level of 213,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 218,000 from the 213,000 originally reported for the previous week.

With Federal Reserve officials signaling they are not in a hurry to begin cutting interest rates, signs of strength in the labor market may once again be seen as a positive for the markets.

The currency weakened in the European session, as the European stock markets traded higher after strong earnings from U.S. chipmaker Nvidia.

The greenback advanced to 1.0802 against the euro and 1.2611 against the pound, off its early nearly 3-week lows of 1.0888 and 1.2709, respectively. The currency is poised to find resistance around 1.06 against the euro and 1.24 against the pound.

The greenback touched 150.64 against the yen, setting a 6-day high. If the greenback rises further, it is likely to test resistance around the 152.00 region.

Reversing from an early 10-day low of 0.8741 against the franc, the greenback edged up to 0.8819. The currency is likely to locate resistance around the 0.90 level.

The greenback recovered to 1.3507 against the loonie and 0.6544 against the aussie, from an early 9-day low of 1.3440 and nearly a 3-week low of 0.6595, respectively. The greenback may find resistance around 1.36 against the loonie and 0.62 against the aussie.

The greenback recovered to 0.6178 against the kiwi, from an early more than 5-week low of 0.6218. The currency is seen finding resistance around the 0.60 level.