Investing.com – The U.S. dollar was up against most other major currencies on Thursday, in the wake of upbeat data on unemployment and nonfarm productivity in the United States.
During early U.S. trade, the greenback was up against the euro and pound, with EUR/USD tumbling 0.66% to hit 1.3607 and GBP/USD shedding 0.3% to hit 1.5054.
It also rose against the Swiss franc and yen, with USD/CHF jumping 0.7% to hit 1.0753 and USD/JPY gaining 0.57% to reach 88.9.
In addition, the U.S. dollar rose against its Australian and Kiwi counterparts: AUD/USD dropped 0.54% to hit 0.9009 and NZD/USD plunged 1.05% to reach 0.6872.
But the greenback fell slightly against the Canadian dollar, with USD/CAD sliding 0.08% to hit 1.0311.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.51%.
Earlier in the day, the U.S. Labor Department said new claims for jobless benefits fell further than expected last week, in a sign that layoffs may be waning as the world's largest economy slowly recovers.
In a separate report, the department said U.S. nonfarm productivity unexpectedly increased at an annual rate of 6.9%, revised up from the 6.2% reported a month ago.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank earlier Thursday left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1% for a tenth straight month, in a widely anticipated decision.