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2018.09.1314:13:00UTC+00Dollar Falls Against European Rivals After Central Banks Maintain Rates

The dollar is turning in a mixed performance against its major rivals Thursday afternoon. After a positive start to the day, the buck has turned lowered against its major European rivals following policy statements from both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.

A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed a modest increase in U.S. consumer prices in the month of August. The Labor Department said its consumer price index rose by 0.2 percent in August, matching the increase seen in July. Economists had expected prices to climb by 0.3 percent.

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged slightly lower in the week ended September 8th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday. The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 204,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level of 205,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 210,000 from the 203,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The European Central Bank left its interest rates unchanged on Thursday and maintained the forward guidance on monetary stimulus for a second policy session in a row, after the Governing Council's June decision to halve the monthly asset purchases after September, and to eventually end them in December.

The Governing Council, led by Mario Draghi, "expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at their present levels at least through the summer of 2019, and in any case for as long as necessary to ensure the continued sustained convergence of inflation to levels that are below, but close to, 2 percent over the medium term," the ECB reiterated in a statement.

The bank also retained its guidance for its asset purchases.

The dollar climbed to an early high of $1.1609 against the Euro Thursday, but has since dropped to around $1.1685.

Germany's consumer price inflation held steady, as initially estimated in August, final data from Destatis revealed Thursday. Consumer price inflation remained stable at 2 percent in August, in line with the estimate published on August 30. The rate reached the 2 percent mark for the fourth consecutive month.

France's consumer prices grew at a steady pace in August, final data from the statistical office Insee showed Thursday. Consumer price inflation came in at 2.3 percent, the same rate as registered in July, and in line with the preliminary estimate published on August 31.

Bank of England policymakers unanimously decided to maintain the monetary policy stance on Thursday, after resorting to a quarter-point rate hike in August.

The committee also unanimously decided to maintain the quantitative easing through asset purchases at GBP 435 billion.

Policymakers said if the economy continues to develop broadly in line with the August Inflation Report projections, an ongoing tightening of monetary policy over the forecast period would be appropriate to return inflation sustainably to the 2 percent target.

The buck has retreated to around $1.31 against the pound sterling Thursday afternoon, from an early high of $1.3026.

UK house price balance dropped in August largely due to the weakness in London, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors reportedly said Thursday. The national house price balance slid to 2 percent in August from 4 percent in July.

The greenback has risen to around Y111.865 against the Japanese Yen this afternoon, from an early low of Y111.169.

Producer prices in Japan were flat on month in August, the Bank of Japan said on Thursday. That was beneath expectations for an increase of 0.1 percent following the downwardly revised 0.4 percent gain in July.

Core machine orders in Japan surged a seasonally adjusted 11.0 percent on month in July, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday, coming in at 918.6 billion yen. That beat expectations for a gain of 5.5 percent following the 8.8 percent slide in June.

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