The U.S. dollar remained little changed against most of its major rivals Thursday after the release of slightly disappointing numbers for May retail sales and weekly jobless claims.
The data pointed to a slowly improving U.S. economy and was unlikely to prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner than expected.
The dollar held steady against the yen at 102.04, while the euro traded flat at $1.3534.
The Commerce Department reported Thursday that retail and food sales rose 0.3% in May from the previous month to $437.65 billion, and were flat when gasoline and autos were excluded. That compares with expectations of sales rising 0.7% in total and 0.4% excluding autos.
In addition, the Labor Department said that initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 4,000 to 317,000 in the week ended June 7, while economists had forecast 310,000 claims.
While the numbers were below expectations, they were expected to do little to convince investors that the Fed will move forward its timing for raising interest rates, said Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist at BNY Mellon. Higher rates would boost the dollar against rivals, as it would increase investors' returns in dollar-denominated assets.
The data pointed to a slowly improving U.S. economy and was unlikely to prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner than expected.
The dollar held steady against the yen at 102.04, while the euro traded flat at $1.3534.
The Commerce Department reported Thursday that retail and food sales rose 0.3% in May from the previous month to $437.65 billion, and were flat when gasoline and autos were excluded. That compares with expectations of sales rising 0.7% in total and 0.4% excluding autos.
In addition, the Labor Department said that initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 4,000 to 317,000 in the week ended June 7, while economists had forecast 310,000 claims.
While the numbers were below expectations, they were expected to do little to convince investors that the Fed will move forward its timing for raising interest rates, said Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist at BNY Mellon. Higher rates would boost the dollar against rivals, as it would increase investors' returns in dollar-denominated assets.
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