(Updated July 20, 15:00 ET (19:00 GMT), New York Time, Karen Bretel NEW YORK (Reuters) – The dollar rose against a basket of currencies on Thursday after data showed an unexpected drop in the number of new Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week, raising hopes that the Federal Reserve could continue to raise rates if the economy remains strong. “The market is looking for signs of job cuts in the U.S., but that’s not the case. Federal funds futures traders are pricing in an additional 34 basis points of tightening, with another 32 basis points of rate hikes expected on Wednesday,” said Adam Button, chief currency analyst at ForexLive in Toronto. A chronic housing shortage in the market slowed the pace of annual home price declines, pushing U.S. existing home sales to a five-month low in June, according to other data on Thursday.Investors will look to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments after Wednesday’s central bank rate decision for new clues as to whether another rate hike is likely in September. The dollar was weakening after cooling inflation for producers and producers indicated price pressures could push the Fed closer to its 2% inflation target.The dollar index rose 0.62% against basket currencies to 100.85.The euro fell 0.67% to $1.1127.All economists polled by Reuters said the European Central Bank is set to raise rates by 25 basis points on July 27, with a small majority of economists 9. The pound is likely to ease some of the pressure on the Bank of England to continue sharp rate hikes after Wednesday’s data showed Britain’s inflation rate fell to 7.9%, the lowest in more than a year.The UK’s main mortgage rate also fell for the first time in almost two months on Thursday.The British currency fell 0.61% to $1.2859, its highest level since April 2022 at 1.2859 on Thursday. Down from $3,144. The dollar rose 0.35% against the Japanese yen to $140.20. The Japanese government on Thursday acknowledged that higher inflation could sustain market hopes for the end of ultra-low interest rates, and expected inflation to be well above the central bank’s 2% target this year. The renminbi fell 0.77% against the offshore Chinese yuan to 7.1764 yuan. China kept its lending standards unchanged on Thursday, adding that the People’s Bank of China had increased the cross-border lending ratio, which sets the limit for companies to borrow as a percentage of their net assets, to allow domestic companies to tap overseas markets for financing. ================================================================ Currency Bid Price as of 3:00 PM (19:00 Japan Time) Description RIC Last US Closing Price % Change YTD Percent High Bid Low Bid Last Change Session Dollar Index 100.8500 100. 2500 +0 .62% -2.551% +100.9700 +100.0100 EUR/USD $1.1127 $1.1202 -0.67% +3.84% +$1.1229 +$1.1119 USD/JPY 140.1950 139.7150 +0.35% +6.94% +140.49 00 +13 9.1100 EUR/JPY 156.00 156.44 -0.28% +11.19% +156.6100 +155.9300 USD/SW 0.8671 0.8586 +1.00% -6.21% +0.8683 +0.8562 GBP/USD $1.2859 $1.293 8 -0.61% +6.33% +$1.2964 +$1.2840 USD/CAD 1.3176 1.3164 +0.09% -2.75% +1.3194 +1.3120 AUD $0.6781 $0.6771 +0.16% -0.51% +$0.6847 +$0.676 6 EUR/ Switzerland 0.9647 0.9615 +0.33% -2.51% +0.9659 +0.9604 EUR/GBP 0.8652 0.8655 -0.03% -2.17% +0.8698 +0.8651 NZ $0.6225 $0.6264 -0.57% -1.92% +$0 .6308 +$0.6214 USD/USD USD/Norway 10.0770 10.0310 +0.47% +2.69% +10.1000 +9.9240 EUR/Norway 11.2097 11.2484 -0.34% +6.82% +11.2584 +11.1280 USD/Sweden 10.3557 10.2 632 +0.29% -0.50% +10.3704 +10.2187 Euro/Sweden 11.5231 11.4902 +0.29% +3.35% +11.5450 +11.4627 (Reporting by Karen Brettell; Additional reporting by Amanda Cooper, London. Editing: Paul Simao and Jonathan Ortiz)
