US dollar ticks down amid economic data

The US dollar ticked down against most major currencies as investors mainly focused on the newly-released economic data.

In late New York trading on Thursday, the euro decreased to $1.1843 from $1.1856 in the previous session, and the British pound increased to $1.3281 from $1.3218 in the previous session, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Australian dollar increased to $0.7831 from $0.7785.

The dollar bought 112.20 Japanese yen, lower than 112.35 yen of the previous session. The US dollar rose to 0.9748 Swiss franc from 0.9728 Swiss franc, and it was down to 1.2460 Canadian dollars from 1.2492 Canadian dollars.

US Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand increased 0.4 per cent last month after rising 0.2 per cent in August. In the 12 months through September, the index rose 2.6 per cent.

In a separate report, the department said the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 243,000 in the week ending October 7, a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week's revised level.

The four-week moving average was 257,500, a decrease of 9,500 from the previous week's revised average, said the department.

Meanwhile, traders also digested the minutes from US Federal Reserve's September policy meeting.

"Many participants continued to believe that the cyclical pressures associated with a tightening labor market or an economy operating above its potential were likely to show through to higher inflation over the medium term," according to the minutes on Wednesday.

Analysts said the minutes showed that policymakers are open to a December interest-rate hike despite concerns about low inflation levels.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was down 0.30 per cent at 93.008 in late trading.

--IANS

pgh/