U.S. Dollar Advances As Initial Jobless Claims Fall; Powell's Speech In Focus

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar climbed against its major counterparts in the European session on Thursday, amid positive jobless claims data and hawkish comments from former St Louis Fed President James Bullard.

Data from the Labor Department showed that U.S. weekly jobless claims fell unexpectedly in the week ended August 19.

Initial jobless claims slipped to 230,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's revised level of 240,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 240,000 from the 239,000 originally reported for the previous week.

In an interview on Bloomberg television, Bullard said that the re-acceleration in the economy is likely to put upward pressure on inflation and postpone plans for rate cuts from the Fed.

Investors focus on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium on Friday for more clues about the interest rate outlook.

The greenback climbed to 145.95 against the yen and 0.5920 against the kiwi, setting 2-day highs. The currency is seen facing resistance around 147.00 against the yen and 0.57 against the kiwi.

The greenback rose to 1.2626 against the pound and 1.0814 against the euro, from an early low of 1.2728 and a 2-day low of 1.0876, respectively. The currency may challenge resistance around 1.23 against the pound and 1.06 against the euro.

The greenback advanced to 0.6421 against the aussie and 1.3587 against the loonie, off an early 9-day low of 0.6488 and a 3-day low of 1.3509, respectively. Next key resistance for the greenback may be located around 0.62 against the aussie and 1.37 against the loonie.

The greenback touched a 1-1/2-month high of 0.8838 against the franc, reversing from an early 1-week low of 0.8759. If the currency rises further, 0.90 is likely seen as its next upside target level.