Investing.com - The dollar remained lower against a basket of the other major currencies on Thursday as the euro regained ground after pulling away from a three year peak in the previous session.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.33% to 90.35 by 08:55 AM ET (13:55 AM GMT), off an overnight high of 90.77.
The euro climbed around half a cent, with EUR/USD rising 0.49% to 1.2246. The euro pulled back from a three year high of 1.2323 on Wednesday after comments by European Bank officials reflected unease over the currency’s recent strong gains.
The euro has strengthened broadly since last week's minutes of the ECB’s December meeting boosted expectations that policymakers are preparing to winding down their bond buying stimulus program.
The dollar has been pressured lower by the view that the global economic recovery will outpace U.S. growth and prompt other major central banks, including the ECB to begin unwinding loose monetary policy at a faster pace.
The dollar was a touch lower against the yen, with USD/JPY dipping 0.11% to 111.17 after ending the previous session with gains of 0.81% when it bounced from a four month trough of 110.18.
Sterling pushed higher, with GBP/USD rising 0.22% to 1.3860, holding below the highs of 1.3941 reached on Wednesday, the most since since Britain’s vote to exit the European Union in June 2016.
The pound pulled back as investors took profits and awaited the latest Brexit developments.
The Canadian dollar was lower against its U.S. counterpart, with USD/CAD rising 0.18% to 1.2464 a day after the Bank of Canada hiked interest rates but cautioned that uncertainty over the North American Free Trade Agreement is clouding the economic outlook.
The greenback showed little reaction to data showing that U.S. jobless claims fell to a 45-year low last week. The Labor Department said data for several states was estimated due to holidays and unseasonably cold weather.
At the same time, a separate report showed that U.S. housing starts fell sharply in December, while building permits also declined.
Another report showed that manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region slowed in January to the lowest level in five months.