Investing.com - The dollar slipped lower against the other major currencies on Thursday, after the release of mixed U.S. economic reports, as investors turned their attention to key U.S. employment data expected on Friday.
The U.S. Department of Labor said initial jobless claims decreased by 5,000 to 240,000 in the week ending July 29 from the previous week’s revised total of 245,000. Analysts expected jobless claims to fall by 3,000 to 242,000 last week.
Separately, the Institute for Supply Management said its index of non-manufacturing activity fell to 53.9 from 57.4 in June. Economists had forecast a reading of 57.0.
Investors were now looking ahead to Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report for July to gauge whether the U.S. economy is strong enough for the Fed to stick to its planned tightening path.
The greenback has been under pressure recently amid worries over political turmoil in Washington and recent lackluster economic reports, which have raised doubts over whether the Federal Reserve will raise rates again this year.
The dollar had been supported by the Fed's gradual policy tightening since late 2015 but the prospect that other major central banks may join it in tightening monetary policy has also weighed on the U.S. dollar.
EUR/USD was up 0.14% at 1.1873, just off the previous session’s 32-month peak of 1.1909.
The single currency has been largely supported in recent weeks by expectations the European Central Bank will begin scaling back its monetary stimulus program in the autumn.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD dropped 0.68% to 1.3134, pulling away from an 11-month high of 1.3266 hit earlier in the session after the Bank of England left interest rates on hold at record lows and cut its economic growth forecast for this year and next.
Earlier Thursday, research group Markit said its services purchasing managers’ index increased to 53.8 last month from a reading of 53.4 in June.
Analysts had expected the index to edge up to just 53.6 in July.
USD/JPY slid 0.54% to 110.09, while USD/CHF fell 0.27% to trade at 0.9682.
The Australian dollar remained weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.25% at 0.7946, while NZD/USD held steady at 0.7432.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD stabilized at 1.2577, after rising to a two-week high of 1.2618 earlier in the session.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.10% at 92.66, very close to the previous session’s 15-month low of 92.41.