New York (US), October 21: The U.S. dollar weakened in late trading on Thursday as market participants parsed a slew of economic data.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, decreased 0.1 percent to 112.8700.
In late New York trading, the euro climbed to 0.9785 U.S. dollars from 0.9771 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound rose to 1.1216 U.S. dollars from 1.1214 dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar was up to 0.6281 U.S. dollars from 0.6270 U.S. dollars.
The U.S. dollar bought 150.15 Japanese yen, higher than 149.89 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar dropped to 1.0039 Swiss francs from 1.0041 Swiss francs, and it declined to 1.3763 Canadian dollars from 1.3764 Canadian dollars.
On the economic front, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday that the nation's initial jobless claims, a rough way to measure layoffs, fell by 12,000 to 214,000 in the week ending Oct. 15. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast new claims to total 230,000.
New York-based The Conference Board said the U.S. leading economic index dropped 0.4 percent in September and its persistent downward trajectory in recent months suggested "a recession is increasingly likely before yearend."
Source: Xinhua
