Strong economic data from the Eurozone and the U.S. lifted the dollar and the single currency against other majors on Thursday.
The U.S. dollar traded narrowly mixed against most major currencies as it reached a one-week high against the yen following data that showed weekly U.S. filings for first-time jobless benefits fell to the lowest since early 2006.
The dollar was last up 0.29% versus the yen to 101.759 yen, after having earlier hit a high of 101.848its strongest in about a week. Its gain was capped after a report showed U.S. new home sales posted the biggest one-month drop in nearly a year in June.
The euro fell to an eight-month low of $1.34370 in early European trading before rebounding to a session high of $1.34837 after the euro zone "flash" composite survey was released, showing the index at a three-month high in July.
The euro was last at $1.3463, little changed from Wednesday`s U.S. close.
The euro gained 0.31% against the yen to 137.013 yen and rebounded 0.34% against the pound to 79.245 pence after hitting a 23-month low of 78.729 on Wednesday.
The pound sterling fell against the dollar, euro and yen Thursday, pressured by weaker-than-expected U.K. retail sales data and the lack of a clear hawkish signal from the Bank of England.
Markets still expect the BOE to be the first of the G-4 central banks to normalize monetary policy, but the lack of a clarity regarding when investors can expect an interest-rate increase in the minutes from the central bank’s July meeting, released Wednesday, caused investors to exit their long positions, said Brian Daingerfield, a foreign-exchange strategist at RBS.
The biggest mover among developed country currencies was the New Zealand dollar. It slumped to a six-week low after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) shifted to a wait-and-see stance and Governor Graeme Wheeler warned against a strong currency. Still the RBNZ raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 3.5 percent.
Some traders have questioned the need for more tightening in the face of a strong currency, restrained inflation and falling prices for dairy products, the country`s biggest export earner.
The New Zealand Dollar, or Kiwi was on track to fall 1.45 percent for its biggest one-day drop versus the U.S. dollar in more than a year. It last traded at $0.85767, a level not seen since June 12.