2018.08.0914:46:00UTC+00Dollar Rising On Positive Employment Data

The dollar is gaining ground against its major rivals Thursday afternoon. Following three days of little to no economic data, investors were given a trio of U.S. economic reports this morning, including some better than expected employment data.

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged lower in the week ended August 4th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday. The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 213,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level of 219,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 220,000 from the 218,000 originally reported for the previous week.

A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed producer prices unexpectedly came in unchanged in the month of July. The Labor Department said its producer price index was unchanged in July after rising by 0.3 percent in June. Economists had expected producer prices to increase by 0.2 percent.

Wholesale inventories in the U.S. saw a slight increase in the month of June, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday. The Commerce Department said wholesale inventories inched up by 0.1 percent in June after rising by 0.3 percent in May. Economists had expected wholesale inventories to come in unchanged.

The European Central Bank said uncertainties related to global factors, notably the threat of protectionism remain prominent.

In the Economic Bulletin, released Thursday, the ECB said the risk of persistent heightened financial market volatility continues to warrant monitoring.

Nonetheless, the bank said risks surrounding the euro area growth outlook were broadly balanced.

The dollar slid to an early low of $1.1619 against the Euro Thursday, but has since climbed to around $1.1550.

The buck fell to a low of $1.2912 against the pound sterling Thursday morning, but has since bounced back to around $1.2850.

The greenback rose to a high of Y111.184 against the Japanese Yen Thursday morning, but has since eased back to around Y110.965.

The total number of core machine orders in Japan tumbled a seasonally adjusted 8.8 percent on month in June, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday - worth 827.6 billion yen. That was well shy of forecasts for a drop of 1.0 percent after sliding 3.7 percent in May.