Dollar broadly lower after U.S. durables, jobs reports

The dollar was broadly lower against the other major currencies on Thursday after data showed that U.S. jobless claims increased slightly last week and durable goods orders increased last month.

The Labor Department said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in last week increased by 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 343,000, compared to expectations for an increase of 6,000 to 340,000.

The Commerce Department said orders for long lasting manufactured goods rose by a seasonally adjusted 4.2% in June, compared to expectations for an increase of 1.3%. 

Durable goods for May were revised to a 5.2% gain from a previously reported 3.7% increase.

Core durable goods orders, which exclude volatile transportation items, were flat in June, compared to expectations for a 0.5% increase. 

The dollar fell to session lows against the yen during European afternoon trade, with USD/JPY down 0.61% to 99.65.

The dollar was also lower against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.22% to 1.3228.

Earlier Thursday, data showed that the Ifo index of German business climate ticked up to 106.2 in July from 105.9 In June, slightly better than expectations for a reading of 106.1.

Elsewhere, the dollar was almost unchanged against the pound withGBP/USD dipping 0.01% to 1.5315.

Data released earlier on Thursday showed that economic growth in the U.K. accelerated to 1.4% on a year-over-year basis in the second quarter, in line with expectations. 

The U.K. economy expanded 0.6% quarter on quarter, after a 0.3% expansion in the first quarter. 

The dollar fell to session lows against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHFdown 0.41% to 0.9335. 

The greenback was mixed against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD climbing 0.17% to 0.9182,NZD/USD jumping 1.33% to 0.8047 and USD/CAD falling 0.30% to 1.0280.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand left its benchmark interest rate on hold at 2.5% on Thursday and indicated that it may hike rates in early 2014.

"Although removal of monetary stimulus will likely be needed in the future, we expect to keep the official cash rate unchanged through the end of the year," said Governor Graeme Wheeler.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.25% to 82.17.