Investing.com - The dollar remained at one-week lows against a basket of other major currencies on Thursday, despite data showing that U.S. jobless claims fell to the lowest level since November 1973 last week, as progress on the Greek debt front supported demand for riskier assets.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending July 18 fell by 26,000 to 255,000 from the previous week’s total of 281,000. Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to fall by 1,000 to 280,000 last week.
The data came after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said last week that the central bank is likely to raise rates "at some point this year."
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.26% at 97.35, the lowest level since July 17.
EUR/USD was up 0.41% to one-week highs of 1.0974 after a majority of Greek lawmakers voted in favor of a second set of reforms late Wednesday, signalling that negotiations on an €86 billion European Union bailout can begin. The country is aiming for a deal by the middle of next month.
The new measures include changes to Greek banking and an overhaul of the judiciary system.
Greece had passed an initial set of austerity measures imposed by its creditors last week. These were a mix of economic reforms and budget cuts demanded before bailout talks could continue.
The pound pushed lower, with GBP/USD down 0.37% at 1.5551 after data showed that U.K. retail sales declined by 0.2% last month, disappointing forecasts for a gain of 0.3%.
Year-on-year, retail sales rose 4.0% in June, below expectations for a 4.9% gain, after rising at a rate of 4.7% in May.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, fell by 0.2% last month, compared to forecasts for a 0.3% rise, after gaining 0.4% in May.
But sterling remained supported after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said last week that the decision to raise interest rates from record lows will come into sharper focus around the end of 2015.
Elsewhere, the dollar was steady against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY at 124.05 and with USD/CHF at 0.9596.
The Australian dollar edged lower, with AUD/USD down 0.12% at 0.7366, while NZD/USD jumped 0.97% to 0.6641.
The National Australia Bank earlier reported that its quarterly business confidence index rose to 4 in the second quarter from zero in the three months to March.
USD/CAD shed 0.20% to 1.3007 after data showed that Canada's retail sales rose 1.0% in May, beating expectations for a 0.5% gain, after a 0.1% downtick the previous month.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, rose by 0.9% in May, exceeding expectations for an increase of 0.8%. Core retail sales slipped 0.5% in April, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 0.6% fall.