SINGAPORE: The dollar edged down against the euro in Asia amid increased risk appetite Friday after US data showed jobless claims had fallen to their lowest level since April 2008, analysts said.
The greenback changed hands at 78.10 yen, compared with 78.15 yen late Thursday New York while the euro rose to $1.3072 from $1.3050.
The euro bought 102.10 yen compared with 101.83 late Thursday.
On Thursday the US Labor Department said weekly claims for unemployment benefits hit a better-than-expected 364,000 last week, compared with a consensus estimate of 380,000 and representing a third straight drop.
The downward claims trend matched data from earlier in the month showing the national unemployment rate dropping to 8.6 percent in November from 9.0 percent the month before, adding to a sense of continued recovery in the world's number one economy.
"The US has been creating jobs for 14 months in a row," said Jennifer Lee of BMO Capital Markets. "In other words, the job market is improving."
Analysts from Singapore's United Overseas Bank expect the dollar to remain strong against the euro in the first half of next year if the European debt crisis remains far from resolved.
They said in a commentary "the likely increased severity of the European situation and a clearly missing workable short-term solution to the European debt problems in first half (of 2012) will imply that the dollar strength will be sustained."
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