Investing.com - The dollar held mostly steady against the other major currencies on Thursday, as the release of upbeat U.S. economic growth and jobless claims data confirmed the view that the U.S. recovery is on track.
Preliminary data showed that U.S. gross domestic product expanded by 4.2% in the second quarter, beating expectations for growth of 3.9%, after an expansion of 4.0% in the three months to April.
In addition, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending August 22 declined by 1,000 to 298,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 299,000.
Analysts had expected the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits to rise by 1,000 to 300,000 last week.
EUR/USD slipped 0.12% to 1.3177.
Preliminary data showed that German consumer price inflation was flat in August, in line with expectations after a 0.3% rise the previous month.
Data also showed that the number of unemployed people in Germany rose by 2,000 last month, confounding expectations for a decline of 5,000. The change in the number of unemployed people for June was revised to a 11,000 drop from a previously estimated 12,000 decline.
Separately, a preliminary report showed that consumer price inflation in Spain fell at an annualized rate of 0.5% this month, compared to expectations for a 0.2% downtick, after a 0.3% fall in July.
The euro had found support earlier, as expectations for fresh stimulus measures by the European Central Bank slightly eased after German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble said on Wednesday that ECB President Mario Draghi's recent comments on the matter have been "over-interpreted."
The pound was steady, with GBP/USD at 1.6576.
The Confederation of British Industry earlier reported that realized sales rose to a six-month high of 37 this month, from a reading of 21 in July, compared to expectations for a rise to 27.
The dollar slipped against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.11% to 103.76 and was steady against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF at 0.9152.
In Switzerland, official data showed that the number of employed people rose to 4,200 million in the last quarter, from 4,192 million in the three months to April. Analysts had expected the number of employed people to rise to 4,210 million in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, AUD/USD rose 0.21% to 0.9361 and NZD/USD inched up 0.05% to 0.8378, while USD/CAD edged down 0.19% to 1.0843.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.08% at 82.54.