The euro fell to fresh six-week lows against the dollar on Thursday
after the European Central Bank stood pat on its monetary policy.
Meanwhile, fresh data from the U.S. signaled the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S.
last week fell more than expected, signaling the labor market is strong.
EUR/USD hit lows of 1.0879, the weakest since May 27 and was last at 1.0891, down 0.54%.
Earlier, the European Central Bank said it has left interest rates across the eurozone unchanged.
The headline rate remains at a record low of 0.05%. The deposit rate stays at -0.2%, meaning banks will still face negative interest rates for leaving cash at the ECB.
The marginal lending rate (charged to banks borrowing from the ECB) remains at 0.3%.
In the U.S., the Department of Labor said the number of people filing for initial jobless benefits fell by 15,000 last week to 281,000 from the previous week’s total of 296,000. Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to drop by 10,000 to 285,000 last week.
First-time jobless claims have held below the 300,000-level for 19 consecutive weeks, which is a signal of a strong labor market.
The news boosted demand for the greenback and weighed on the precious metals.
The dollar index was last at 97.567, higher 0.41%.
Comex gold for August delivery hit an intraday low of $1,140.60 a troy ounce, a level not seen since November 7, before trading at $1,143.40 during U.S. morning hours, down $4.00, or 0.35%.
Comex silver for September delivery dropped 12.6 cents, or 0.84%, to trade at $14.92
a troy ounce.
