Investing.com – The greenback surged on Thursday as the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance fell to an almost 50-year low last week, increasing hope that the economy is not slowing down.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.2% to 96.887 as of 10:53AM ET (14:53 GMT).
The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell by 10,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 202,000, the lowest level since December 1969. The data suggests that labor is not deteriorating as much as thought and is a positive prelude to Friday’s jobs report.
The dollar rose against the safe-haven yen, with USD/JPY gaining 0.1% to 111.55.
Elsewhere, sterling fell as a sit down between Prime Minister Theresa May the leader of the opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, seemed to go nowhere. The House of Lords is expected to vote later on a bill which would try to block a no deal Brexit, which would force May to ask the EU for another extension.
The U.K. had originally been due to leave the EU on March 29, but the deadline was pushed back to April 12 to allow the U.K. parliament more time to approve the withdrawal agreement. However, the agreement has failed three times.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD rose 0.1% to 1.3348 and EUR/USD fell 0.2% to 1.1216.
