Investing.com - The dollar was lower against the yen on Thursday as a downward revision to U.S. first quarter growth continued to weigh, while the pound rose back above the 1.70 level as new measures by the Bank of England to cool the housing market were seen as less drastic than expected.
USD/JPY edged down 0.09% to 101.77, not far from the two week low of 101.61 set on Wednesday.
Data on Wednesday showed that U.S. gross domestic product contracted at an annual rate of 2.9% in the first three months of the year, compared to the consensus forecast for a decline of 1.7%.
U.S. first quarter GDP was initially reported to have increased by 0.1%, but was subsequently revised to show a contraction of 1.0%.
The weak data indicated that the Federal Reserve may need to keep rates on hold for an extended period to support the recovery.
Sterling was higher against the dollar, with GBP/USD rising 0.23% to 1.7020.
The BoE said Thursday that from October, it will cap mortgages, so that people borrowing 85% of a house's value will not be allowed to borrow more than 4.5 times their income.
BoE Governor Mark Carney said the recovery in the U.K. economy is broadening and strengthening, but the housing market is the main risk to financial stability.
Demand for sterling continued to be underpinned as the new measures did little to alter expectations that the BoE will raise interest rates ahead of other central banks.
EUR/USD slid 0.14% to 1.3610, remaining inside the month's range of 1.3503 to 1.3678. The shared currency was also weaker against the pound, with EUR/GBP losing 0.41% to trade at 0.7992, near the more than one-and-a-half year low of 0.7958 set earlier this month.
Meanwhile, USD/CHF edged up 0.12% to 0.8937.
AUD/USD was steady at 0.9408, while NZD/USD added 0.26% to trade at 0.8760.
The Canadian dollar was steady at five-and-a-half month highs, with USD/CAD at 1.0715.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged up 0.05% to 80.30.