Dollar Gets A Small Lift From Data
NEW YORK -- Though the dollar weakened slightly against the euro and yen, the currency posted its first broad advance in three days after U.S. economic data eased fears that the Federal Reserve would need to kick start the sluggish economy.</br></br>Second-quarter gross domestic product data, weekly jobless claims and a survey of Chicago-area purchasing managers gave investors heart that the economy may be regaining some steam.</br></br>Thursday's data gave rise to the possibility "that Fed policy easing is not yet a done deal," said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington.</br></br>Still, next week's U.S. unemployment report for September will be a much bigger test for gauging the likelihood of added federal stimulus, analysts said.</br></br>By late in New York, the ICE Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of currencies, had inched up to 78.762 from 78.759 late Wednesday. The euro moved to $1.3634 from $1.3629. The dollar was at 83.48 yen from 83.65 yen. The euro weakened to 113.82 yen from 114.07 yen. The U.K. pound weakened to $1.5711 from $1.5784. The dollar strengthened to 0.9826 Swiss franc from 0.9770 franc.