WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar gained in further strength on Thursday, with the world's largest economy showing signs of growth even as growth outlook in several other parts of the globe continue to remain uncertain.
While a report showing a jump in durable goods orders in March supported the dollar, a mixed bag of earnings reports and data showing a bigger than expected increase in initial jobless claims last week limited the greenback's rise a bit.
The dollar index rose to 98.32, its highest level since mid May 2017, before paring some gains and dropping to 98.18, still up 0.14% from previous close.
The euro was down 0.2% at $1.1135. In its economic bulletin, the European Central Bank warned of slowing global growth and downside risks stemming from trade tensions.
The British Pound Sterling was down 0.21%, at $1.1133.
The Japanese Yen, which had settled at 112.19 a dollar on Wednesday, strengthened to 111.66 a dollar.
Against the Aussie, the greenback was up slightly, with the former rebounding after a sharp setback in the previous session.
The dollar was slightly lower against the loonie, which recovered after plunging on Wednesday following Bank of Canada's dovish statement on rates.
Against the Swiss franc, the dollar gained about 0.03% at 1.0207.
In U.S. economic news today, data from the Labor Department showed initial jobless claims climbed to 230,000, an increase of 37,000 from the previous week's revised level of 193,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 200,000 from the 192,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The bigger than expected increase came after the number of jobless claims in the previous week represented their lowest level since hitting 182,000 in September of 1969.
Meanwhile, a report from the Commerce Department said durable goods orders surged up by 2.7% in March after tumbling by a revised 1.1% in February.
A significant rebound in orders for transportation equipment contributed to the surge in durable goods orders in the month. Economists had expected durable goods orders to climb by 0.8% compared to the 1.6% slump originally reported for the previous month.
Markets now await the U.S. fourth quarter GDP data, due on Friday.
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