U.S. dollar rises on upbeat GDP data

The U.S. dollar climbed against most major currencies on Thursday as investors were sifting through the newly-released gross domestic product (GDP) data from the country.

U.S. real GDP increased at an annual rate of 1.4 percent in the second quarter of 2016, according to the "third" estimate released by the Commerce Department. The latest reading was higher than market consensus of a 1.3-percent gain.

In the first quarter, real GDP increased 0.8 percent.

On the other economic front, in the week ending Sept. 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 254,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

In the previous session, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said in a prepared testimony to the House Financial Services Committee that U.S. banks are well capitalized, but remain challenged by weak interest income, according to media reports.

She also said the central bank does not have a "fixed timetable" for raising rates.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, was up 0.17 percent at 95.596 in late trading on Thursday.

In late New York trading, the euro stayed flat at 1.1212 dollars, and the British pound fell to 1.2968 dollars from 1.3015 dollars. The Australian dollar decreased to 0.7647 dollars from 0.7686 dollars.

The dollar bought 101.16 Japanese yen, higher than 100.75 yen in the previous session. The dollar fell to 0.9663 Swiss francs from 0.9713 Swiss francs, and it inched up to 1.3137 Canadian dollars from 1.3128 Canadian dollars. Enditem