2017.07.2714:25:00UTC+00Dollar Paring Early Gains After Mixed Economic Reports

The dollar has begun to give back some of its early gains against the Euro and the British pound Thursday afternoon and has turned negative against the Japanese Yen. U.S. economic data proved mixed this morning, with durable goods orders coming in stronger than expected, while weekly jobless claims increased by more than had been anticipated.

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by more than expected in the week ended July 22nd, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday. The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 244,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's revised level of 234,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 241,000 from the 233,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Reflecting a sharp jump in orders for transportation equipment, the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing a substantial increase in new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in the month of June.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders spiked by 6.5 percent in June after edging down by a revised 0.1 percent in May. Economists had expected durable goods orders to surge up by 3.0 percent compared to the 1.1 percent drop originally reported for the previous month.

The dollar climbed to a high of $1.1649 against the Euro Thursday, but has since eased back to around $1.1675.

German consumer confidence is set to strengthen in August, survey data from the market research group GfK showed Thursday. The forward-looking consumer sentiment index rose to 10.8 in August from 10.6 in July. The score was forecast to remain unchanged at 10.6.

The buck rose to a high of $1.3047 against the pound sterling Thursday, but has since slipped back to around $1.3075.

British retailers reported a pickup in sales during July, exceeding expectations for minimal growth, the latest monthly Distributive Trades Survey from the Confederation of British Industry revealed Thursday. A balance of 22 percent reported an increase in sales in July, exceeding economists' forecast of 10 percent.

The greenback advanced to a high of Y111.710 against the Japanese Yen Thursday, but has since dropped to around Y111.125.