US dollar lifts slightly amid strong economic data; euro down

The US dollar rose slightly amid strong economic data. In late New York trading on Thursday, the euro was down to $1.1390 from $1.1398 in the previous session, and the British pound rose to $1.2987 from $1.2870 in the previous session, Xinhua news agency reported. The Australian dollar increased to $0.7200 from $0.7176. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, rose 0.01 per cent at 96.0658 in late trading. The US dollar bought 109.26 Japanese yen, higher than 108.92 Japanese yen of the previous session.

The US dollar increased to 0.9937 Swiss franc from 0.9906 Swiss franc, and it rose to 1.3266 Canadian dollars from 1.3249 Canadian dollars. In the week ending January 12, the advance figure for US initial jobless claims, a rough measure of layoffs, was 213,000, down 3,000 from the previous week's unrevised level, the Department of Labor reported on Thursday. The reading was lower than market consensus. Meanwhile, the more stable four-week moving average was 220,750, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 221,750.

(With inputs from agencies.)