BRUSSELS (Alliance News) - The greenback weakened against its major counterparts in European deals on Thursday, as data showed that US initial jobless claims unexpectedly increased last week, while retail sales growth slowed in May. First-time claims for US unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased in the week ended June 7th, according to a report released by the Labor Department today. The report said initial jobless claims edged up to 317,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's revised level of 313,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 310,000. The report released by Commerce Department showed that US retail sales rose by 0.3% in May, weaker than the 0.6% growth expected by economists. April's figure was upwardly revised by 0.5%. The greenback extended slide to 1.6841 against the pound, its lowest since June 6. On the downside, 1.70 is seen as next support level for the greenback. The greenback eased back to 0.8990 against the franc after the data, after having improved to 0.9011 during early European deals. The next possible downside target for the greenback-franc pair lies around the 0.89 level. Reversing from an early 1-week high of 1.3511 against the euro, the greenback ticked down to 1.3538. The greenback may probably target support at the 1.36 level. The buck briefly pared gains to 101.98 per yen, off its previous high of 102.13. The greenback may find support around the 101.00 region.

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