U.S. weekly jobless claims rise; Swissie jumps as SNB eases intervention talk The buck was also pressured after the Philadelphia Federal Reserve said its index of regional manufacturing activity fell in June. And separately, the Conference Board said it expects slower growth for the rest of the year, even as its index of leading economic indicators rose 0.4% in May. The tone for the day was set, however, after the Spanish government managed to sell nearly 3.5 billion euros ($4.3 billion) in 10- and 30-year bonds. Demand was strong, although Spain had to pay high yields on the bonds. Read about Spain's bond auction. The euro (CUR_EURUSD 1.2379, +0.0001, +0.0081%) traded at $1.2383, up from $1.2304 in North American trade late Wednesday, marking its highest level in nearly three weeks. "We seem to have seen some upside from the Spanish bond auction. Certainly the euro has picked up. There has been some benefit to sentiment," said David Page, economist at Investec Securities. According to BNP Paribas, the euro has broken a resistance level at $1.2350, opening the way for a move towards $1.25. Spanish and European Union officials this week have repeatedly denied reports that an aid package was being fashioned for Madrid. Investors will be keeping close watch on a summit meeting of EU leaders in Brussels Thursday, which is focused on strengthening fiscal rules and their enforcement. Read about the EU summit. Reports the Bank of Spain is weighing making the results of recent stress tests on the banking system public have also helped the euro, while raising the question of whether it would force other nations to follow suit and make public their findings, said Andrew Wilkinson, currency strategist at Interactive Brokers in Greenwich, Conn. Earlier, the euro fell hard versus the Swiss franc (CUR_EURCHF 1.3770, +0.0018, +0.1290%) after the Swiss National Bank appeared to soften the threat of continued intervention to slow the euro's decline. The euro was down 1% at 1.3771 francs in recent action, after hitting a low for the day at 1.3738 francs. In its quarterly policy statement, the SNB said it would "take all measures necessary to ensure price stability" if downside risks materialize and, through a rise in the franc, lead to a renewed threat of deflation. The statement, however, omitted the warning from March that the SNB was prepared to "act decisively to prevent an excessive appreciation of the Swiss franc against the euro." Read about the SNB's policy stance. The dollar fell versus the Japanese unit (CUR_USDYEN 90.8000, -0.1200, -0.1320%) to change hands at ¥90.98, down from ¥91.43 on Wednesday. The dollar index (DXY 85.66, -0.03, -0.03%) traded at 85.66, down from 86.156. The British pound (CUR_GBPUSD 1.4840, +0.0029, +0.1958%) gained ground versus a weakening U.S. dollar to trade at $1.4824. The pound was bolstered in part by stronger-than-expected May retail-sales data. The Office for National Statistics said sales jumped 0.6% from April, exceeding forecasts for a 0.3% rise. Strategists said British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne's speech Tuesday night handing oversight of the U.K. financial sector largely to the Bank of England was no major surprise to financial markets. Read about Britain's regulatory changes. But remarks by Bank of England Governor Mervyn King Tuesday night reinforced ideas the central bank is unlikely to rush to raise rates or otherwise exit its easy monetary policy despite a recent run of above-target inflation, said economists at BNP Paribas. The new British government appears intent on tightening fiscal policy aggressively and when it does, "the associated reduction in the [BOE's] outlook for growth and inflation will provoke further easing, most likely in the form of further quantitative easing," they wrote.

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