2019.09.2617:12:00UTC+00Dollar Rises To 2-year High

The U.S. dollar rose to a two-year high on Thursday, extending gains from previous session, but stayed mostly sideways with traders digesting the latest batch of economic data and weighing the impact of the move to impeach President Donald Trump and the developments in the UK on the Brexit issue.

The dollar index rose to a high of 99.28 and was last seen at 99.21, up 0.17% from previous close.

Against the euro, the dollar was up 0.21% at 1.0921.

The pound sterling was weak as well against the dollar, dropping to $1.2323 from previous close of $1.2351.

The Japanese yen was down 0.08% at 107.85 a dollar.

The dollar was up marginally against the loonie at 1.3272 and up 0.2% at 0.9939 against the loonie. The Aussie was down marginally against the dollar with the pair trading at 0.6747.

According to a report from the Commerce Department, real GDP increased at an annual rate of 2% in the second quarter, unchanged from the previous estimate and in line with economist estimates.

The unrevised 2% GDP growth in the second quarter still reflects a notable slowdown compared to the 3.1% jump in the first quarter.

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits crept slightly higher in the week ended September 21st, according to a report released by the Labor Department.

The report said initial jobless claims inched up to 213,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level of 210,000. Economists had expected initial jobless claims to tick up 212,000 from the 208,000 originally reported for the previous week.

A report from the National Association of Realtors said pending home sales in the U.S. showed a bigger than expected rebound in the month of August, surging up by 1.6% to 107.3, after plunging by 2.5% to 105.6 a month earlier. Economists had expected pending home sales to climb by 0.9%.

Traders were also following the developments on the political front after the release of the whistleblower complaint that sparked the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.

The document outlines concerns about Trump "using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election."

The complaint relates to Trump's calls on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to conduct an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden, the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination.