U.S. Dollar Appreciates As Weekly Jobless Claims Fall Unexpectedly

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar advanced against its major counterparts in the European session on Thursday, as the nation's weekly jobless claims unexpectedly dipped in the week ended July 15, pointing to the resilience of the labor market.

Data from the Labor Department showed that initial jobless claims slipped to 228,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 237,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 242,000.

The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged down to 237,500, a decrease of 9,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 246,750.

Encouraging data fuelled hopes that the Federal Reserve is nearing the end of its interest rate hikes.

The Fed is still widely expected to raise rates by another quarter point next week, but traders are hopeful that will be the last.

The greenback climbed to 1-week highs of 1.1171 against the euro and 0.8632 against the franc, reversing from an early low of 1.1229 and a 2-day low of 0.8560, respectively. The currency may challenge resistance around 1.08 against the euro and 0.90 against the franc.

The greenback recovered to 0.6804 against the aussie and 1.3158 against the loonie, from its early 6-day lows of 0.6846 and 1.3119, respectively. The greenback is likely to face resistance around 0.64 against the aussie and 1.34 against the loonie.

The greenback edged up to 0.6245 against the kiwi and 139.95 against the yen, off its early lows of 0.6307 and 139.10, respectively. The currency is seen facing resistance around 0.60 against the kiwi and 145.00 against the yen.

The greenback was up against the pound, at a 9-day high of 1.2854. On the upside, 1.24 is seen as its next resistance level.