USD declines on GDP, jobless filings

Story link: USD declines on GDP, jobless filings

The US dollar declined in relation to the euro and the pound Thursday after a smaller than expected gain in the Gross Domestic Product and as first-time jobless claims rose last week.

The GDP added 1.9 percent in the second quarter, according to the Commerce Department, against an expected gain of 2.3 percent, while the Labor Department reported that first-time unemployment filings totaled 448,000 last week, the highest number in over 5 years.

At around 10:30 a.m. in New York the dollar traded at $1.5631 to the euro while it took $1.9852 to buy a pound.

The dollar was also lower against the yen at ¥107.9150, while the euro gained on the Japanese currency to ¥168.6873.

The pound declined on a drop in consumer confidence, while the UK currency was also hurt by a report from the Nationwide Building Society that home values there were down 1.7 percent in July, the ninth month in a row of declines.

Meanwhile, the euro was helped by a report that Eurozone inflation was at 4.1 percent in July, raising the possibility of another interest rate increase by the European Central Bank.

In morning trade in New York, the pound had dropped to 78.74p to the euro.

The Canadian dollar was down in relation to the US dollar after Canada’s GDP dropped by 0.1 percent on reductions in car manufacturing and natural gas production, to trade at C$1.0247 to the greenback in mid-morning trade in New York.