By Deborah Levine
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Treasury prices and the dollar remained down on Thursday after the Labor Department said 448,000 Americans filed initial claims for jobless benefits last week, down 11,000 from the prior week. Continuing claims also fell. Yields on 2-year notes (UST2YR 1.03, 0.00, 0.00%) , which move inversely to prices, rose 2 basis points to 1.05%. The euro (CUR_EURUSD 1.3265, +0.0059, +0.4468%) rose to $1.3266, up from $1.3203 in late North American trade Wednesday, when it touched a one-year low. The dollar index (DXY 81.96, -0.42, -0.51%) , which tracks the greenback against a basket of major currencies, slipped to 81.904, down from 82.019 before the data, compared to 82.293 late Tuesday. Treasurys and the dollar were under pressure earlier as a lack of more bad news about sovereign debt provided a little relief to markets, reducing the desire for the relative safety of the dollar and U.S. debt. The Treasury market still must contend with an auction of 7-year notes (UST7YR 3.20, +0.09, +2.79%) .
