U.S. dollar rises on upbeat data

The U.S. dollar increased against most major currencies on Thursday as economic data from the country came out positive.

In the week ending Aug. 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 266,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level, the U.S. Labor Department announced Thursday.

The upbeat jobless data, combined with the recent strong nonfarm payroll report, have bolstered market speculation that the Federal Reserve may raise interest rate by year-end.

U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 255,000 in July, beating economists' estimates of 180,000, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.9 percent, the Labor Department reported Friday.

Average hourly earnings for all employees increased 8 cents to 25.69 U.S. dollars, following a 2-cent increase in June, according to the report.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.24 percent to 95.884 in late trading on Thursday.

In late New York trading, the euro dipped to 1.1143 dollars from 1.1175 dollars of the previous session, and the British pound declined to 1.2965 dollars from 1.3012 dollars. The Australian dollar went down to 0.7702 dollars from 0.7709 dollars.

The dollar bought 101.92 Japanese yen, higher than 101.28 yen in the previous session. The dollar fell to 0.9748 Swiss francs from 0.9754 Swiss francs, and it inched down to 1.2974 Canadian dollars from 1.3061 Canadian dollars. Enditem