Investing.com - The dollar held steady against the other major currencies on Thursday, despite the release of upbeat U.S. jobless clains data, as U.S. political tensions continued to weigh and and as investors eyed the Jackson Hole summit set to begin later in the day.
The U.S. Labor Department said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance last week rose less than expected.
But sentiment on the greenback remained fragile after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he would be willing to shut down the government in order to get the funding needed for his proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump also warned that he might terminate the NAFTA trade treaty with Canada and Mexico.
Investors were also cautious ahead to this week's annual meeting of top central bankers and economists in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where the heads of the U.S. and European central banks will be making keynote speeches.
EUR/USD eased 0.09% to 1.1796, as investors were looking ahead to a speech by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi in Jackson Hole on Friday.
Draghi was not widely expected to deliver any new policy message in his speech, despite speculation over how soon the central bank plans to start scaling back its stimulus program.
The yen remained lower, with USD/JPY up 0.32% at 109.37, while USD/CHF slipped 0.12 % to 0.9637.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD rose 0.22% to trade at 1.2827, off a two-month low of 1.2774 hit overnight, after data showed that U.K. economic growth was unrevised in the second quarter.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars remained weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.14% at 0.7893 and with NZD/USD shedding 0.19% to 0.7213.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD fell 0.18 % to 1.2529.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 93.18 by 08:40 a.m. ET (12:40 GMT).