NEW YORK: The dollar and euro hit session lows versus the yen on Thursday after US data showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell sharply to the lowest level in four years, a hopeful sign for the struggling labor market.
Against the yen, the euro fell to a session low of 96.40 and last traded at 96.48, down 1.1 percent on the day.
The dollar hit a session low of 79.16 yen and last traded at 79.20, down 0.7 percent on the day. It traded at 79.32 before the data and briefly rose afterward its release.
Against the dollar, the euro last traded at $1.2182, down 0.5 percent on the day versus $1.2184 before the release of the data, according to Reuters data.
"This improvement in the jobless claims number is welcome but what is important is the trend and we have yet to establish a permanent lower trend in these numbers," said Joseph Trevisani, chief market strategist at Worldwide Markets in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.
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