US dollar rises amid upbeat GDP report

The US dollar climbed against most major currencies on Thursday as the country's strong GDP data indicated that the US economy is in good shape.

The US Commerce Department on Thursday revised up its estimate for the real gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter from a growth rate of 2.3 percent to 3.7 percent, much higher than a gain of 0.6 percent in the first quarter, reported Xinhua.

Other economic data from the country also came out positive. In the week ending August 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 271,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week, according to the US Labour Department on Thursday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.57 percent at 95.643 in late trading.

Although robust data eased some worries over whether the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates this year given the global market rout recently, many investors held that a September-hike is practically off the table.

In late New York trading, the euro fell to $1.1257 from $1.1345 in the previous session, and the British pound dropped to $1.5425 from $1.5469 in the previous session. The Australian dollar inched up to $0.7171 from $0.7099.