The U.S. dollar rose against major currencies in late New York trading on Thursday as the European Central Bank (ECB) decided to leave its key interest rate unchanged and a report showed that U.S. jobless claim remained at high level.
The ECB on Thursday left its key interest rate unchanged at 1. 25 percent. Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the central bank, however, said"strong vigilance" is needed over inflation, signaling a widely-expected interest rate hike in July.
The euro was under pressure after the decision and fell back to 1.45 against the dollar in late trading session, after the pair touched a one-month high of 1.4693 two sessions ago.
Also on Thursday, the Bank of England decided to keep its key interest rate at a record low of 0.5 percent as concerns about the economic recovery overcame inflation worry. The British pound also dipped against the greenback following the decision.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday that initial jobless claims increased 1,000 to 427,000 last week. The figure disappointed economists who had expected a slightly drop of 7,000.
The weak job data weighed on the greenback and somewhat limited its gains against other major currencies. The dollar index was slightly up 0.29 percent to 74.14 on Thursday.
In late Thursday trading, the dollar bought 80.26 Japanese yen, comparing with 79.94 yen late Wednesday, and the euro fell to 1. 4509 dollars from 1.4575.
The British pound also fell to 1.6369 dollars from 1.6390. The dollar rose from 0.8371 Swiss francs to 0.8420, but fell to 0.9738 Canadian dollars from 0.9792.
