U.S. dollar declines amid profit-taking

The U.S. dollar fell against other major currencies on Thursday as investors took profits from recent gains.

The greenback had increased for consecutive two sessions amid expectations that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration would boost the economy with fiscal stimulus the next year.

The U.S. dollar went down on Thursday amid profit-taking ahead of New Year holiday. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major peers, was down 0.64 percent at 102.640 in late trading.

On the economic front, in the week ending Dec. 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 265,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 275,000, said the Labor Department Thursday.

The 4-week moving average was 263,000, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 263,750.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.0491 dollars from 1.0405 dollars, and the British pound climbed to 1.2244 dollars from 1.2215 dollars. The Australian dollar increased to 0.7204 dollars from 0.7182 dollars.

The dollar bought 116.58 Japanese yen, lower than 117.17 yen in the previous session. The dollar fell to 1.0228 Swiss francs from 1.0291 Swiss francs, and it edged down to 1.3509 Canadian dollars from 1.3553 Canadian dollars. Enditem