The dollar is trading higher against the Euro and the Japanese Yen Thursday morning, but is down slightly against the British pound. Investors finally got some U.S. economic data to react to this morning and are preparing themselves for a barrage of data on Friday.

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased in the week ended January 9th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday. The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 284,000, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 277,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 275,000.

While the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing a significant drop in U.S. import prices in the month of December, the decrease was not quite as steep as economists had anticipated.

The Labor Department said import prices tumbled by 1.2 percent in December after falling by a revised 0.5 percent in November. Economists had expected import prices to slump by 1.4 percent compared to the 0.4 percent drop originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said export prices slid by 1.1 percent in December following a revised 0.7 percent decrease in November. Export prices had been expected to dip by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.6 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month.

Investors can look forward to the release of the producer price index, retail sales, industrial production and consumer sentiment among others on Friday.

Rate-setters were divided on the size of the interest rate reduction during the December policy session and they explored the possibility of further easing in future, the minutes of the meeting, released Thursday by the European Central Bank, showed.

"Some members expressed a preference for a 20 basis point cut in the deposit facility rate at the current meeting, mainly with a view to strengthening the easing impact of this measure and reflecting the view that, to date, no material negative side effects on bank margins and financial stability had emerged," the minutes of the December 3 meeting, said.

On December 3, the bank cut its deposit facility rate by 10 basis points to a record low -0.30 percent. The size of the reduction was at the lower end of the 10-20 basis points cut economists had forecast.

The minutes said some members were cautious regarding a deeper rate cut as they felt it will increase the side effects over time.

"A cut in the deposit facility rate of 10 basis points was seen as unlikely to trigger material negative side effects and was also seen as having the advantage of leaving some room for further downward adjustments, should the need arise," the report said.

The dollar dropped to an early low of $1.0942 against the Euro Thursday, but has since bounced back to around $1.0860.

The German economy grew the most in four years in 2015 as feeble inflation, record low unemployment and wage growth boosted household spending. Gross domestic product advanced 1.7 percent after expanding 1.6 percent in the previous year, Destatis said Thursday. This was the fastest growth since 2011, when GDP climbed 3.7 percent.

Germany's wholesale prices continued to fall in December but the pace of decline slowed further, Destatis reported Thursday. Wholesale prices decreased 1 percent year-on-year in December, slower than the 1.1 percent drop seen in November. Nonetheless, the index has been falling since July 2013.

The Bank of England maintained its record low interest rate and quantitative easing unchanged as expected, on Thursday.

Policymakers observed that downside risks to global growth and the recent decline in oil prices could depress the near-term inflation outlook.

The Monetary Policy Committee, governed by Mark Carney, voted 8-1 to keep the interest rate unchanged at 0.50 percent. The rate has been at the current record low level since early 2009.

The MPC voted unanimously to retain the asset purchase plan at GBP 375 billion.

Ian McCafferty has been the sole dissenter since August, seeking a 25 basis points rate hike, suggesting that the majority of policymakers are in no hurry to tighten monetary policy.

The buck reached a high of $1.4359 against the pound sterling Thursday, but has since eased back to around $1.4410.

The greenback has climbed to around Y118.175 against the Japanese Yen this afternoon, from around Y117.400 this morning.

Core machine orders in Japan plummeted 14.4 percent on month in November, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday, worth 773.8 billion yen. The headline figure missed forecasts for a decline of 7.3 percent following the 10.7 percent increase in October.

US Dollar vs ZAR (FX:USDZAR)
Forex Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024 Click Here for more US Dollar vs ZAR Charts.
US Dollar vs ZAR (FX:USDZAR)
Forex Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024 Click Here for more US Dollar vs ZAR Charts.