U.S. weekly jobless claims dent dollar luster U.S. GDP data confirms Q2 growth Dollar posts biggest daily percentage loss since mid-August Euro hits lowest since July 2020 vs dollar (Adds new comment, month-end and quarter-end percentage moves, updates prices) By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK, Sept 30 (Reuters) – The dollar edged lower from a one-year high on Thursday in choppy trading, pressured a little bit by a rise in U.S.
weekly jobless claims, with investors also consolidating gains after a steep rise the last few sessions. The greenback overall has been supported by the spike in U.S. Treasury yields amid expectations the Federal Reserve will taper its monetary stimulus beginning in November even as global growth slows.
Thursday’s economic data, though, dented some of the dollar’s strength. U.S. initial jobless claims rose for a third straight week to 362,000 for the period ending Sept. 25, data showed. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 335,000 jobless applications for the latest week.
That said, another report confirmed that U.S. economic growth accelerated in the second quarter, at a 6.7% clip, thanks to pandemic relief money from the government, which boosted consumer spending. “Even if the U.S. dollar falls back a bit further in the near term, we expect it to resume its recent rally in due course,” Joseph Marlow, assistant economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a research note.
“Although long-term yields have risen in most major economies, U.S. bond yields have increased by more than most and, importantly, been driven in large part by higher real yields, reflecting expectations of tighter monetary policy.” The dollar index, which measures the currency against a basket of six rivals, hit 94.504, its highest since Sept. 28 last year.
