Investing.com - The dollar slipped lower against other major currencies on Thursday, after the release of disappointing U.S. jobless claims data and as investors turned their attention to Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report.
EUR/USD was up 0.40% at 1.0583 after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi struck a more upbeat tone on the outlook for the recovery in the euro zone, while reiterating that the present monetary policy stance remains appropriate.
The comments came after the ECB kept interest rates unchanged at the outcome of its meeting earlier and reiterated they can be cut again in the future if necessary.
Also Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said initial jobless claims increased by 20,000 to 243,000 in the week ending March 4 from the previous week’s total of 223,000. Analysts expected jobless claims to rise by 12,000 to 235,000 last week.
Investors were looking ahead to Friday’s government employment report for February, where a strong reading would cement expectations for a rate hike from the Fed next week.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD edged down 0.16% to 1.2150, just off Wednesday’s seven-week low of 1.2138.
USD/JPY gained 0.45% to trade at 114.86, while USD/CHF slipped 0.10% to 1.0138.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.29% at 0.7505 and with NZD/USD shedding 0.20% to 0.6900.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD added 0.16% to trade at 1.3511, just below a more than two-month peak of 1.3535 hit earlier in the session.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.18% at 101.93, just off a one-week high of 102.25 hit overnight and not far from a two-month peak.