US dollar rises amid economic data

The US dollar traded higher against most major currencies as investors digested the latest economic data.

In late New York trading on Thursday, the euro rose to $1.1869 from $1.1868, and the British pound fell to $1.3131 from $1.3239, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Australian dollar decreased to $0.7942 from $0.7976.

The US dollar bought 110.17 Japanese yen, lower than 110.56 yen of the previous session. The US dollar rose to 0.9700 Swiss franc from 0.9695 Swiss franc, and it edged up to 1.2578 Canadian dollars from 1.2559 Canadian dollars.

Investors were trying to find clues on when the Federal Reserve might start the balance sheet reduction and whether the Fed will raise interest rate again this year.

In the week ending July 29, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 240,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week` s revised level, according to the US Labor Department on Thursday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up less than 0.01 per cent at 92.837 in late trading.