Dollar Rises as Jobless Claims Drop, Stocks Fall

The dollar rose broadly Thursday as several policymakers around the world warned the economic recovery was fragile, prompting investors to take profits on gains in higher-yielding currencies and assets.

U.S. crude oil shed more than $2 a barrel and stocks also slipped, threatening to end the Dow industrials' six-day winning streak, as investors pared back risky trades and bought back some of the cheaply-borrowed dollars used to fund them.

The euro fell further below $1.50 after coming within a whisker of its 2009 high around $1.5060 on Wednesday.

Overnight comments from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who said recovery would be bumpy and pledged to maintain active fiscal and loose monetary policies, unnerved investors a day after China posted strong industrial output numbers, analysts said.

"These comments and others helped convince people who were long equities and commodities to square positions, but we don't think this renewed dollar advance is sustainable," said Michael Woolfolk, currency strategist at BNY Mellon in New York.

He said another euro "run above $1.50 is inevitable, and it may well be a sustained run until the Federal Reserve signals it is getting ready to raise interest rates" from record lows.

The euro last changed hands at about $1.48, down on the day. The dollar also rose to about 1.01 Swiss francs and around 90 yen .

Traders said some of the euro's struggles were tied to a report that a German bank rescue fund was likely to bolster the capital of troubled regional lender West LB.

Elsewhere, European Central Bank governing board member George Provopoulous said a global recovery was still fragile and should not be taken for granted.

Sterling was up at near $1.65, while the dollar rose against its Canadian counterpart to about C$1.05. The IMF on Thursday said Canada's economy was recovering but that currency strength could limit the gains.

Jobless Claims Down, Treasury Demand Watched

Data on Thursday showed first-time claims for U.S. jobless benefits fell in the latest week, initially prompting some to buy the dollar against the yen.

Positive news usually prompts investors to shun dollars for higher-yielding currencies on the view that the economy is improving, but analysts said profit-taking won out Thursday.

Some said investors also may have bought dollars in hopes that good U.S. data will spur the Fed — the U.S. central bank — to hike benchmark interest rates sooner rather than later, making dollars more attractive.

One potential source of worry to that outlook could come from foreign demand for U.S. Treasury debt. A record $16 billion sale of 30-year debt got a fairly cool reception on Thursday, with bidding the lowest since May.

Some analysts said that may indicate investors are increasingly anxious at buying long-dated Treasurys given fears that the dollar will continue to weaken.

"It's very interesting to see how high demand is at the short end but not at the long end," said Stephen Gallo, head of market analysis at Schneider Foreign Exchange in London.

"A few more results like that" in sales of long-dated Treasurys "should not bode well for the dollar," he said.

Expectations of currency appreciation in Asia could also renew dollar pressure, analysts said. The latest draft of a post-meeting communique from leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum called for "market-oriented" exchange and interest rates, effectively an argument for local currencies to appreciate against the dollar.

President Barack Obama visits China next week, and market participants expect currencies to be discussed.

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