Investing.com - The dollar was broadly lower against a basket of other major currencies on Friday, as the previous session's downbeat U.S. data continued to weigh and as markets awaited an upcoming report on U.S. durable goods orders later in the day.
The dollar remained under pressure after the U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits increased unexpectedly by 1,000 to 295,000 last week from the previous week’s total of 294,000.
Data also showed that U.S. new home sales dropped 11.4% last month to 481,000 units, compared to expectations for a 5.3% fall to 513,000 units.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.18% to 97.26.
EUR/USD climbed 0.45% to two-and-a-half week highs at 1.0870.
The single currency strengthened after the Ifo Institute of Economic Research said that Germany's business climate index rose to a 10-month high of 108.6 in April from 107.9 in March, beating expectations for an uptick to 108.4.
The pound was trading at a one-month peak, with GBP/USD up 0.53% to 1.5136.
Elsewhere, the dollar was lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY down 0.09% to 119.48 and with USD/CHF shedding 0.24% to 0.9522.
Earlier Friday, Swiss National Bank Chairman Thomas Jordan warned that the franc could rise due to uncertainty over the Greek debt crisis and it the central bank remains prepared to intervene in foreign exchange markets to weaken what it sees as too strong a currency.
Jordan said the SNB is monitoring the effect of the crisis on the franc and the potential impact on Switzerland "very closely."
The SNB chairman was speaking at the central bank's general meeting of shareholders, in Berne.
The Australian dollar was higher, with AUD/USD adding 0.11% to 0.7787, while NZD/USD slid 0.34% to 0.7566.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD held steady at 1.2136.