Investing.com - The dollar trimmed losses against the other major currencies on Thursday, after the release of upbeat U.S. jobless claims data although comments by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen indicating that further rate hikes could be delayed continued to weigh.
USD/JPY retreated 0.82% to 112.43, still close to 15-months lows of 111.00 hit earlier in the session.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending February 6 decreased by 16,000 to 269,000 from the previous week’s total of 285,000. Analysts expected jobless claims to fall by 4,000 to 281,000 last week.
In testimony before a congressional committee on Wednesday, Yellen said there are good reasons to believe the U.S. will stay on a path of moderate growth that will allow the Fed to pursue "gradual" adjustments to monetary policy.
But she also acknowledged risks facing the U.S. economy from tightening financial conditions driven by falling stock prices and uncertainty over China.
The dollar is now down almost 8% against the yen from the six-week high of 121.68 reached on January 29, following the Bank of Japan’s shock decision to adopt negative interest rates.
EUR/USD rose 0.26% to trade at 1.1320, not far from three-and-a-half month highs of 1.1354 hit earlier.
Elsewhere, the dollar was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.86% at 1.4400 and was steady against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF at 0.9736, off a four-month trough of 0.9699.
Meanwhile, the Australian and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.31% at 0.7073 and with NZD/USD slipping 0.19% to 0.6672.
USD/CAD gained 0.45% to trade at 1.3989 as oil prices fell to a three-week low below $28 a barrel on Thursday.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.09% at 95.77, after hitting a four-month low of 95.50 earlier in the day.