1st LD Writethru: U.S. dollar rises on upbeat data, ECB meeting

The U.S. dollar increased against most major currencies on Thursday as investors were digesting the better-than-expected jobless data from the country as well as the outcome of the just-concluded European Central Bank (ECB) meeting.

The U.S. Labor Department reported on Thursday that in the week ending Oct. 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 259,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level. However, the latest reading was still lower than market consensus of 265,000.

The euro dropped to three-week low against the greenback on Thursday as ECB President Mario Draghi suggested that the euro zone need fresh monetary stimulus in December to combat weak inflation.

"We are ready to act if needed ... and we are open to the full menu of monetary policy," Draghi said at a news conference after the ECB policy meeting concluded on Thursday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 1.36 percent at 96.331 in late trading.

In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.1112 dollars from 1.1337 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound declined to 1.5389 dollars from 1.5425 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar decreased to 0.7212 dollar from 0.7223 dollar.

The U.S. dollar bought 120.71 Japanese yen, higher than 119.95 yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar climbed to 0.9737 Swiss franc from 0.9591 Swiss franc, and it went down to 1.3101 Canadian dollars from 1.3117 Canadian dollars. Enditem