Investing.com - The dollar remained near three-month highs against the other major currencies on Thursday, as hopes for a December rate hike in the U.S. continued to support the greenback and investors awaited the release of U.S. jobs data on Friday.
The dollar was steady against the yen, with USD/JPY at 121.56.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending October 31 increased by 16,000 to 276,000 from the previous week’s total of 260,000. Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 2,000 to 262,000.
But the greenback remained supported after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that a December rate hike is a "live possibility," depending on the data.
Investors were turning their attention to Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for further indications on the strength of the job market.
EUR/USD was also little changed at 1.0866.
Earlier Thursday, official data showed that German factory orders dropped 1.7% in September, confounding expectations for an increase of 1.0%, after a 1.8% decline the previous month.
Elsewhere, the dollar was higher against the pound and the Swiss franc, with GBP/USD down 0.88% at 1.5250 and with USD/CHF rising 0.31% to 0.9962.
Sterling came under pressure after the Bank of England left rates unchanged and cut its forecasts for growth and inflation in 2015 and 2016, indicating that interest rates are likely to remain on hold for longer.
The Australian dollar was steady, with AUD/USD at 0.7142, while NZD/USD gained 0.39% to 0.6619.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD edged up 0.27% to trade at 1.3183.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.13% at 98.12, the highest level since August 7.