Dollar little changed after upbeat US jobless claims

The dollar was little changed against a basket of major currencies after a report showing U.S. initial jobless claims dropped more than forecasts last week.

The report showed that first-time applicants for jobless benefits slipped to 284,000 in the week through July 19 from a revised of 303,000 and median estimates of 307,000.

Later in the day, U.S. new home sales may show a drop to 475,000 in June from 504,000 a month earlier.

Last week, Fed Chair Janet Yellen mentioned that interest rates could rise earlier than market anticipation if both inflation and labor market data showed remarkable progress.

Inflation data released this week signaled a 0.4 percent increase in June, following a 0.3 percent advance in May.

The improvement in U.S. data is adding to the case the Fed may raise the borrowing cost earlier than predicted.

The dollar index, which tracks the green currency’s movements versus six major currencies, was little changed to hover around 80.87 after touching a peak of 80.97.

The EURUSD rose slightly buoyed by data showing a euro area PMI composite of manufacturing and services matched a three-year high posted in April, where the gauge held above the 50 benchmark for a 50 th straight month.

The pair is meanwhile trading around 1.3470 after hitting a high of 1.3483 and a low of 1.3436.

The GBPUSD resumed its drop for a seventh consecutive session after a report showing U.K. retail sales rose less than forecasts last month.

The pair is currently trading around 1.7000 after setting a high of 1.7051.  

Tomorrow, eyes will focus on U.K. second-quarter GDP where analysts predict the economy to record another robust 0.8 percent growth, hitting its eighth straight quarterly expansion to come back to pre-crisis levels.

The USDJPY rose for a fifth straight session to trade around 101.75, compared with the session’s opening of 101.46.

Investors left safe haven assets, led by the yen, after a report released earlier today signaling that China manufacturing sector widened expansion by the fastest pace in 18 months in July.