Dollar Drifts Lower Against Major Counterparts

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar drifted lower against most of its major counterparts on Thursday, as bond yields dropped, amid some uncertainty about the outlook for future interest rate hikes.

Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said today that tight monetary policy is "unequivocally" slowing the U.S. economy, allowing the Federal Reserve to move "more deliberately" with any further interest rate increases.

In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rebounded by slightly more than expected in the week ended February 4th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose to 196,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 183,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 190,000.

The uptick came after jobless claims decreased in four out of the five previous weeks, falling to their lowest level since hitting 181,000 in the week ended April 23, 2022.

The dollar index, which dropped to 102.64, has recovered to 103.26, but still remains in negative territory, netting a loss of about 0.15%.

Against the Euro, the dollar weakened to 1.0793 in early New York session, but has recovered to 1.0735 now, down by about 0.21% from the previous close of 1.0713.

The dollar is weak against Pound Sterling at 1.2114, despite recovering from 1.2195.

Against the Japanese currency, the dollar is up at 131.63 yen, after having weakened to 130.35 earlier in the day.

The dollar is weak at 0.6932 against the Aussie, despite recovering from 0.7012.

Against Swiss franc, the dollar is stronger, fetching CHF 0.9226 a unit. The Loonie is weak at C$ 1.3460 against the dollar.