The New Zealand dollar rose on Thursday, to extend its gains after the release of strong jobs data that beat expectations yesterday.

Data showed today that the inflation expectations index rose 1.4% in July, vs. 1.2% in June.

New Zealand's AIG construction index rose to 42.7 points in July, vs. 35.5 points in June, and the unemployment rate fell to 4% in July vs. 4.2% in June, beating forecasts of 5.6%,

While the employment change reading showed a drop by 0.4%, also better than forecasts of a drop by 2%.

The New Zealand government did not reveal any cases of the coronavirus, as the country is one of the least with cases and deaths, after it has succeeded in containing the outbreak early.

As of 15:59 GMT, NZD/USD rose 0.1% to 0.6658, after hitting an intraday high of 0.667 and a low of 0.6627.

Copper prices fell on Thursday, despite the US dollar sharp drop against most currencies, while the market concerns about global output were renewed.

Investors are uncertain over the global demand recovery in the coming period, as the coronavirus crisis continues.

Copper futures on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell to $4,371 per tonne, jumping $6,633/tonne on July, after easing the coronavirus-lockdown and restrictions, especially in China.

The dollar index fell against a basket of currencies by 0.1% to 92.8 points as of 14:00 GMT, after it hit a high of 92.9 and a low of 92.5.

Copper September futures fell 0.6% to $2.89 per pound as of 14:02 GMT, after hitting a session-high of $2.92 and a low of $2.88.

US stock indices edged up in early trading on Thursday, after the release of upbeat economic data.

The US Department of Labor revealed today that the unemployment claims fell to 1.18 million during the past week.

This comes ahead of the monthly jobs report on Friday, which provide better insight on the state of the US labor market, amid expectations for further drop in the unemployment rate..

Coronavirus infections rose to 18.3 million confirmed cases globally, with a death toll of more than 700,000 victims.

As for stocks, Dow Jones rose 0.2% or 60 points to 27,261 as of 14:25 GMT, Nasdaq rose 0.1% or 20 points to 11,019, and S&P 500 rose 0.1% or 4 points to 3,332.

Silver prices rose in European trade for the third straight session, hitting a 7-year peak thanks to strong retail demand after gold's record gains. 

Silver prices jumped 3.3% to the highest since April 2013 at $27.85 an ounce, after opening at $26.96, with a session-low of $26.78.

Silver gained 4% yesterday, posting its second daily gain, as the US dollar slumped.

Silver prices gained nearly 34% during July, posting the fourth monthly gain in a row, and the biggest monthly gain ever.

This historic gain came thanks to retail investors' focus on the precious metal, as it's currently still undervalued compared to gold, in addition to the sharp drop in the US dollar.

While gold hit a new all-time record yesterday at $2,055.60 an ounce, while silver is still very far from reaching its all-time high of $49.78 that was hit in April 2011.

Silver movement has been historically more than gold in rising or falling, but this hasn't occurred in the recent period. But as more retail investors focusing on the white metal, demand is expected to increase, and prices are poised to jump higher.