Forex Pros – The U.S. dollar was down against the other major currencies on Thursday, as data showing a drop in jobless claims failed to offset fears over a slowdown in U.S. economic growth. During European afternoon trade, the greenback was down against the euro, with EUR/USD gaining 0.81% to hit 1.3101. Earlier in the day, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week was 457,000, down 11,000 on the previous week. Analysts had expected claims to remain unchanged at 464K. The greenback was also down against the pound, with GBP/USD advancing 0.26% to hit 1.5640. Also Thursday, industry data showed that U.K. house prices fell more than expected in July, dropping for the first time since February. The greenback was down against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY shedding 0.42% to hit 87.10 and USD/CHF plunging 1.73% to hit 1.0385. The greenback was also down against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD shedding 0.48% to hit 1.0338, AUD/USD jumping 1.0% to hit 0.9022 and NZD/USD up 0.55% to hit 0.7248. Earlier in the day, data showed that Canada's raw materials price index fell unexpectedly in June, dropping for the second consecutive month. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.65%.

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