U.S. dollar falls on weak China data

The U.S. dollar dropped against other major currencies on Thursday as investors were digesting the soft September trade data from China.

China's exports measured in yuan fell 5.6 percent year on year in September, reversing a 5.9-percent gain in August, while imports slowed from rising 10.8 percent last month to just 2.2 percent.

Analysts said the weak data from China spurred market appetite for safe-haven assets, and may deter Federal Reserve's possible move to raise interest-rate in December.

On the U.S. economic front, in the week ending Oct. 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 246,000, unchanged from the previous week's revised level, announced the U.S. Labor Department Thursday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was down 0.43 percent at 97.544 in late trading.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1049 dollars from 1.1013 dollars, and the British pound climbed to 1.2249 dollars from 1.2191 dollars. The Australian dollar increased to 0.7574 dollars from 0.7565 dollars.

The dollar bought 103.58 Japanese yen, lower than 104.26 yen in the previous session. The dollar inched down to 0.9866 Swiss francs from 0.9905 Swiss francs, and it fell to 1.3194 Canadian dollars from 1.3252 Canadian dollars. Enditem