Investing.com – The dollar fell against a basket of major currencies pressured by a rebound in the euro as fears that the German collation collapse would weigh on the European economy eased.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell by 0.52% to 93.39.
The dollar struggled to stem losses against the euro as traders appeared to unwind their bearish bets on the euro which followed German chancellor Angela Merkel’s failure to form the country’s next government.
EUR/USD rose 0.47% to $1.1793, while EUR/GBP added 0.09% to £0.8872.
Meanwhile a mixed bag of economic reports on jobs and durable goods orders did little to lift sentiment on the greenback.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that initial jobless claims fell 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 239,000 for the week ended Nov. 18, missing forecasts of a 10,000 increase.
The Commerce Department said on Wednesday non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, fell 0.8% last month after an upwardly revised 2.4% increase in September.
The duo of reports come ahead of the release of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes for the November meeting due at 2 p.m. ET.
Elsewhere, sterling added to recent gains against the dollar, rising 0.37% to $1.3290 after UK Chancellor Philip Hammond reveal the government’s latest budget.
USD/JPY fell 0.40% to Y115.58 while USD/CAD lost 0.39% to C$1.2730 as a rebound in oil prices supported a move higher in the oil-sensitive Canadian dollar.