U.S. dollar edges higher amid tax reform expectations

NEW YORK, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar edged up against most major currencies Thursday, as investors were optimistic about U.S. tax reform program.

Analysts said it seemed it's just a matter of time before the final bill reaches President Donald Trump for final approval, despite the Senate and House of Representative have differences on the tax bill.

The U.S. Senate on Saturday morning passed the Republican bill to overhaul the tax code in decades, moving one step closer to the first major legislative victory of the Trump administration and congressional Republicans.

On the economic front, in the week ending Dec. 2, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 236,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 238,000, the U.S. Labor Department announced Thursday

The 4-week moving average was 241,500, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 242,250.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, ticked up 0.08 percent at 93.684 in late trading.

In late New York trading, the euro decreased to 1.1783 dollars from 1.1794 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound rose to 1.3474 dollars from 1.3376 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar lost to 0.7518 dollar from 0.7562 dollar.

The dollar bought 113.01 Japanese yen, higher than 112.26 yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar rose to 0.9934 Swiss franc from 0.9902 Swiss franc, and it was up to 1.2851 Canadian dollars from 1.2797 Canadian dollars. Enditem