WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar is slightly higher against most major currencies on Thursday afternoon. The dollar index is hovering around 95.70, up marginally.
The dollar rose to a near two-week high against the Euro, due largely to some weak economic data from eurozone this week.
Against the euro, the greenback strengthened to $1.1371 before paring some gains. Still, at $1.1383 a little while ago, the U.S. currency was up more than 0.1% against the Euro.
The Japanese currency is trading at 109.31 against the greenback, losing about 0.25% from previous close.
The Canadian loonie is trading weak, with USD/CAD gaining about 0.17% at 1.3271.
Meanwhile, the British Pound is quite firm amid speculation there will be a second referendum on Brexit. The dollar is hovering around 1.2985 against Sterling, losing about 0.8%.
British Prime Minister Theresa May's earlier Brexit Plan was voted out by Parliament on Tuesday this week. May just about managed to win the confidence vote a day later and this has given her some time to work on a new Brexit plan.
According to reports, May has been meeting lawmakers from all parties in an attempt to find a way out of an impasse over Britain's exit from the European Union. It is said that there is a campaign for a new referendum although May is not in favor of such a move.
In economic news from the U.S., a report from the Labor Department showed an unexpected decrease in first-time claims for unemployment benefits in the week ended January 12th. The report said initial jobless claims edged down to 213,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 216,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 220,000.
Meanwhile, a report from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve showed a significant acceleration in the pace of growth in regional manufacturing activity in the month of January.
The Philly Fed said its index for current manufacturing activity in the region jumped to 17.0 in January from 9.1 in December, with a positive reading indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to tick up to 10.0.
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