Investing.com - The dollar remained broadly higher against a basket of other major currencies on Thursday, as trade volumes were expected to remain light with U.S. markets closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The US dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, added 0.23% to 87.90.
The dollar weakened broadly on Wednesday after data showed that U.S. initial jobless claims rose to the highest level since early September last week, while personal spending rose less than expected.
Durable goods orders rose in line with forecasts, but core durable goods orders fell unexpectedly.
Other reports showed that U.S. consumer sentiment was revised lower, manufacturing activity in the Chicago region slowed and data from the housing sector was mixed.
EUR/USD touched session lows of 1.2465 and was last down 0.17% to 1.2486.
The euro was hit after data showed that Germany’s consumer price index rose just 0.6% this month, down from 0.8% in October. On a month-over-month basis, prices were flat.
The data was seen as increasing the likelihood that the European Central Bank will implement additional stimulus measures in an attempt to spur growth and inflation in the euro area.
A separate report showed that the number of unemployed people in Germany fell 14,000 this month, compared to expectations for a drop of 1,000, while the unemployment rate held steady at 6.6%, compared to expectations for a rise to 6.7%.
In addition, research group Gfk said that its index of Germany’s consumer climate rose to 8.7 in October from 8.5 the previous month. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 8.6 last month.
USD/JPY held steady at 117.78, while USD/CHF edged up 0.14% to trade at 0.9625.
The pound pulled away from two-week highs hit earlier in the session, with GBP/USD down 0.32% to 1.5741.
The Australian, New Zealand and Canadian were steady, with AUD/USD at 0.8549 and NZD/USD at 0.7870. Meanwhile, USD/CAD gained 0.64% to trade at 1.1319.
In Canada, data showed that the current account deficit narrowed to C$8.4 billion in the third quarter from C$9.9 billion in the second quarter, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of C$11.9 billion.
Analysts had expected the current account deficit to hit C$10.3 billion in the last quarter.