2021.04.2921:02:00UTC+00Dollar Comes Off Nine-week Lows, Scores Gains Against Some Major Currencies

The U.S. dollar gained in strength against some major currencies on Thursday, coming off over 2-month lows, after bond yields rose following data showing a strong first-quarter growth of the U.S. economy.

The yield on U.S. 10-Year Treasury Notes rose to about 1.65% after data showed the U.S. economy registered a strong growth in the first quarter, increasing at an annual rate of 6.4%, and the second-fastest growth since late 2003.

Data showing a drop in jobless claims contributed as well to dollar's uptick. According to the data released by the Labor Department, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits dropped to a new pandemic-era low in the week ended April 24th.

The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 553,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level of 566,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 549,000 from the 547,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Jobless claims fell for the third straight week, once again sliding to their lowest level since hitting 256,000 in the week ended March 14, 2020.

A report from the National Association of Realtors showed pending home sales in the U.S. rebounded in the month of March.

NAR said its pending home sales index jumped by 1.9% March after plunging by 11.5% to a revised 109.2 in February.

The dollar index rose to 90.79 by mid-morning, but gave up gains gradually as the session progressed. It was last seen hovering around 90.65, up marginally from previous close.

Against the Euro, the dollar was up slightly at $1.2121, after having firmed up to $1.2103 earlier.

The Pound Sterling was marginally down against the greenback with a unit of Sterling fetching $1.3941 as against $1.3939 Wednesday evening.

The Yen weakened to 108.91, down nearly 0.3%.

The dollar, at 0.7765 against the Aussie a little while ago, was stronger by nearly 0.35%.

The Swiss franc was stronger at 0.9086 a dollar, gaining 0.16%. The Loonie firmed up nearly 0.3% at 1.2279 a dollar thanks to higher crude oil prices.