U.S. dollar rises on upbeat jobless data

The U.S. dollar increased against most major currencies on Thursday as jobless data from the country came out better than expected.

In the week ending June 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 264,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised level, according to the U.S. Labor Department Thursday. The latest reading was below market consensus of 270,000.

The positive jobless data eased some worries about the U.S. economic growth decelerating in the second quarter.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.41 percent at 93.977 in late trading.

Analysts said the greenback would hold in a narrow range ahead of the Federal Reserve's June policy meeting next week.

In late New York trading, the euro dipped to 1.1326 dollars from 1.1400 dollars of the previous session, and the British pound decreased to 1.4471 dollars from 1.4508 dollars. The Australian dollar went down to 0.7440 dollars from 0.7472 dollars.

The dollar bought 106.75 Japanese yen, lower than 106.86 yen of the previous session. The dollar climbed to 0.9638 Swiss francs from 0.9587 Swiss francs, and it inched up to 1.2721 Canadian dollars from 1.2711 Canadian dollars. Endit