U.S. dollar mixed on inflation report, jobless data

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against other major currencies on Thursday amid soft inflation data and an upbeat jobless report from the country.

The Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers increased 0.1 percent in March on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. The index for all items less food and energy inched up 0.1 percent in March after rising 0.3 percent in February, lower than market consensus.

In a separate report by the department, in the week ending April 9, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 253,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level.

Analysts said the strong jobless report was offset by the soft inflation data, which may keep the Federal Reserve to stay cautious in raising interest rates.

In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.1267 dollars from 1.1283 dollars of the previous session, and the British pound declined to 1.4155 dollars from 1.4214 dollars. The Australian dollar went up to 0.7702 dollars from 0.7656 dollars.

The dollar bought 109.26 Japanese yen, lower than 109.29 yen of the previous session. The dollar decreased to 0.9667 Swiss francs from 0.9670 Swiss francs, and it inched up to 1.2844 Canadian dollars from 1.2815 Canadian dollars. Endit