1st LD Writethru: U.S. dollar falls on soft data

The U.S. dollar declined against other major currencies on Thursday as economic data from the country came out overall negative.

In the week ending April 11, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 294,000, an increase of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level, said the U.S. Labor Department Thursday. The latest reading was above market consensus of 280,000.

Privately-owned housing starts in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 926,000, 2.0 percent above the revised February estimate of 908,000, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. However, the latest figure was below market consensus of 1,040,000.

The euro dropped against the greenback amid heating concerns about Greek debt. Greece's public finances in 2014 were worse than initial forecasts, the Hellenic Statistical Authority said Wednesday, raising concerns that the Greek default is looming this spring if Athens fails to reach a deal with lenders on further financing.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was down 0.76 percent at 97.572 in late trading.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.0799 dollars from 1.0682 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound climbed to 1.4961 dollars from 1.4845 dollars. The Australian dollar went up to 0.7815 dollar from 0.7681 dollar.

The U.S. dollar bought 118.85 Japanese yen, lower than 118.91 yen of the previous session. The greenback declined to 0.9550 Swiss franc from 0.9642 Swiss franc, and dropped to 1.2167 Canadian dollars from 1.2307 Canadian dollars. Endite