Dollar broadly lower vs. rivals on profit-taking
Frankfurt (Jan 4) The dollar was broadly lower against the other major currencies on Friday, as investors locked in profits after the greenback's recent progression due to positive U.S. data and the Federal Reserve's decision to begin tapering its stimulus program this year.
During European morning trade, EUR/USD slipped 0.18% to 1.3647.
The greenback remained supported after the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending December 28 declined by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 339,000.
Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 7,000 to 334,000 last week from the previous week’s revised total of 341,000.
In the euro zone, official data showed that the number of unemployed people in Spain dropped by 107,600 in December, compared to expectations for a 20,000 rise, after 2,500 decline the previous month.
The pound was steady against the dollar, with GBP/USD up 0.02% to 1.6457.
Markit research group earlier said the U.K. construction purchasing managers' index fell to 62.1 in December, from a reading of 62.6 the previous month. Analysts had expected the index to drop to 62.0 last month.
The report came after industry data showed that U.K. house price inflation rose 1.4% in December, beating expectations for a 0.7% uptick, after an upwardly revised 0.7% increase in November.
Elsewhere, the greenback was lower against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.50% to 104.29 and higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF adding 0.16% to 0.9004.
In Switzerland, the SVME PMI fell to 53.9 last month, from a reading of 56.5 in November, compared to expectations for a rise to 56.9.
The greenback was broadly lower against the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, with AUD/USD up 0.91% to 0.8991, NZD/USD jumping 1.09% to 0.8274 and USD/CAD down 0.27% to 1.0641.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.02% to 80.73.
Also Friday, data showed that China's non-manufacturing PMI fell to 54.6 in December, from a reading of 56.0 the previous month.
