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The dollar rose to a three-week high on Thursday as traders overlooked another week of roughly 3 million new jobless claims, evidence of a second wave of coronavirus-related lay-offs.
The Japanese yen JPY= and Swiss franc CHF= were both weaker against the dollar and flat versus the euro, and U.S. stocks ended the day up, suggesting the dollar's bid was not part of a broader risk-off move.
The Labor Department's weekly jobless claims report on Thursday, the most timely data on the economy, supports the contention that it would take a while for activity to rebound even as businesses in many states reopen after shuttering in mid-March as authorities tried to slow the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus.
The latest data lifted to 36.5 million the number of people who have filed claims for unemployment benefits since mid-March, with more than one in five workers losing their job. Claims will be closely watched in the coming weeks for signs of whether companies rehire workers as businesses reopen.
Against a basket of its rivals =USD , the dollar was up 0.20% at 100.37, hitting a three-week high of 100.56 early in the session.
"The USD shrugged off the higher-than-forecast jobless claims, and deflationary trade prices, though Wall Street took a dive, before later turning higher," wrote analysts at Action Economics.
The euro was down 0.23% against the dollar at $1.079 EUR= . "Economic fundamentals remain bleak on both sides of the Atlantic, with markets continuing to look through the data. Big picture, the pairing remains inside of recent trading ranges, and until a clearer view of the re-opening of economies becomes evident, more of the same is anticipated," wrote the analysts.
Earlier in the session the pound GBP= tumbled below the $1.22 line for the first time in more than five weeks after Wednesday's data showed Britain's economy shrank by a record 5.8% in March as the coronavirus crisis escalated. It later recovered, last trading down only 0.06% at $1.222.
Currency bid prices at 3:38PM (1938 GMT)
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.0794 $1.0816 -0.20% -3.71% +1.0824 +1.0776 Dollar/Yen JPY= 107.3000 107.0200 +0.26% -1.43% +107.3200 +106.7800 Euro/Yen EURJPY= 115.84 115.77 +0.06% -5.02% +115.8600 +115.3400 Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9734 0.9719 +0.15% +0.58% +0.9755 +0.9714 Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.2226 1.2229 -0.02% -7.79% +1.2241 +1.2167 Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.4043 1.4099 -0.40% +8.14% +1.4139 +1.4043 Australian/Doll AUD= 0.6462 0.6454 +0.12% -7.96% +0.6467 +0.6405 arEuro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0510 1.0517 -0.07% -3.15% +1.0521 +1.0506 Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8830 0.8842 -0.14% +4.41% +0.8870 +0.8827 NZ Dollar/Dolar NZD= 0.5996 0.5990 +0.10% -10.99% +0.6003 +0.5958 Dollar/Norway NOK= 10.1648 10.1643 +0.00% +15.79% +10.2722 +10.1533 Euro/Norway EURNOK= 10.9739 11.0000 -0.24% +11.55% +11.0792 +10.9683 Dollar/Sweden SEK= 9.8160 9.8082 -0.13% +5.01% +9.8938 +9.8089 Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.6026 10.6161 -0.13% +1.27% +10.6640 +10.6030
