NEW YORK: The dollar index edged higher on Thursday, backing off a seven-week low as hopes for a coronavirus relief package ahead of the Nov. 3 US elections faded and Covid-19 cases surged around the world, boosting demand for safe-haven assets like the greenback.
Investors were also digesting new US jobless claims data that showed a bigger-than-expected drop, but remained at extremely high levels, indicating a slowdown in the labour market and broader economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic as the boost from previous fiscal stimulus fades.
The dollar index was last trading at 92.893, 0.18% firmer on the day and above the 92.469 low hit on Wednesday that marked the lowest level since Sept. 2. The euro was 0.3% lower versus the dollar at $1.1862, down from Wednesday's one-month highs of $1.18805.
The Australian dollar was 0.1% softer versus the greenback at $0.7110, while the New Zealand dollar was 0.21% higher at $0.6670 - up from the $0.6551 low touched on Tuesday. Elsewhere, the Chinese yuan retreated from a 27-month high hit a day earlier on signs the authorities have become increasingly wary over the recent rapid gains in the currency. The offshore Chinese yuan was last up 0.42% at 6.6709 per dollar.
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