U.S. Dollar Gives Back Ground But Remains Modestly Higher

RTTNews | 43 days ago
U.S. Dollar Gives Back Ground But Remains Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - After seeing some strength early in the day, the value of the U.S. dollar has given back ground over the course of trading on Thursday.

The U.S. dollar index has pulled back well off its highs and is currently up just 0.12 points or 0.1 percent at 107.70 after rising as much as 0.5 percent.

The greenback is trading at 151.47 yen versus the 152.61 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0387 compared to yesterday's $1.0403.

While the dollar initially regained ground following the pullback seen over the past two days, buying interest has waned since then as traders look ahead to the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

The report, which is expected to show employment climbed by 170,000 jobs in January after jumping by 256,000 jobs in December, could impact the outlook for interest rates.

A day ahead of the release of the more closely watched monthly jobs report, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by more than expected in the week ended February 1st.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 219,000, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week's revised level of 208,000.

Economists had expected initial jobless claims to rise to 213,000 from the 207,000 originally reported for the previous week.

A separate report released by the Labor Department showed U.S. labor productivity and unit labor costs both increased by less than expected in the fourth quarter of 2024.

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