U.S. Dollar Drops As Jobless Claims Increase

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar fell against its major counterparts in the New York session on Thursday, after a data showed that the nation's weekly jobless claims rose more than expected in the week ended November 30.

Data from the Labor Department showed that initial jobless claims rose to 224,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week's revised level of 215,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 215,000 from the 213,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Investors look ahead to Friday's non-farm payrolls figures for more clues on the interest rate path.

Economists currently expect employment to jump by 200,000 jobs in November after inching up by 12,000 jobs in October, while the unemployment rate is expected to tick up to 4.2 percent from 4.1 percent.

The jobs data could impact the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve's next monetary policy meeting later this month.

The greenback declined to more than 3-week lows of 1.2770 against the pound and 0.8788 against the franc, off its early highs of 1.2692 and 0.8853, respectively. The next possible support for the currency is seen around 1.29 against the pound and 0.86 against the franc.

The greenback weakened to a 6-day low of 1.0589 against the euro and a 2-day low of 1.4010 against the loonie, from its early highs of 1.0505 and 1.4079, respectively. The currency is likely to locate support around 1.08 against the euro and 1.36 against the loonie.

The greenback pulled back against the yen and was trading at 150.11. If the currency falls further, it is likely to test support around the 144.00 region.

The greenback fell back to 0.5881 against the kiwi. The currency is seen finding support around the 0.60 level.

In contrast, the greenback recovered to 0.6422 against the aussie, from an early low of 0.6452. The currency is poised to challenge resistance around the 0.62 level.