Investing.com - The euro and the yen fell to session lows against the dollar on Thursday after a larger-than-expected increase in U.S. durable goods orders offset a drop in inflation and an increase in jobless claims.
EUR/USD was last down 1.28% to 1.1215, the weakest since January 26.
USD/JPY was up 0.34% to 119.25, closing in on Tuesday’s highs of 119.83.
The dollar strengthened after the Commerce Department reported that durable goods orders, which include transportation items, rose 2.8% last month, above expectations for a gain of 1.7%.
At the same time other data showed that U.S. consumer prices fell 0.7% in January, the largest decline since December 2008, as gasoline prices continued to drop. On a year-over-year basis, consumer prices fell 0.1%.
The data came after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Wednesday that wage growth and inflation must rise before the bank can raise interest rates, despite signs of improvement in the labor market.
Separately, official figures showed that the number of Americans filing for initial jobless benefits last week increased by 31,000 to 313,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 282,000.
The euro remained under pressure amid lingering concerns over the conditions attached to Greece’s bailout extension. Earlier Thursday, Germany warned that the bailout extension could be abandoned if Athens does not stick to its pledges.
In other trade, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, surged 1.05% to three-week high of 95.24.