US dollar drops against euro amid downbeat data

The US dollar lost against euro Thursday as economic data of the country came in worse-than-expected.

On the US economic front, in the week ending September 26, the advance figure for seasonally-adjusted initial jobless claims increased by 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised level to 277,000, above market consensus of 272,000, said the US Labour Department.

The four-week moving average remained at a very low level of 270,750, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised average, suggesting continued strength in the labour market, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, the US September manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) registered 50.2 percent, a decrease of 0.9 percentage points from the August reading of 51.1 percent, said the Institute Supply Management (ISM) on Thursday.

In late New York trading, the euro gained to 1.1185 dollars from 1.1175 dollars of the previous session, and the British pound increased to 1.5132 dollars from 1.5127 dollars. The Australian dollar went up to 0.7031 dollars from 0.7015 dollars.

The dollar bought 119.92 Japanese yen, higher than 119.91 yen of the previous session. The dollar moved up to 0.9777 Swiss francs from 0.9741 Swiss francs, and it moved down to 1.3253 Canadian dollars from 1.3338 Canadian dollars.