US dollar drifted lower against its most major counterparts 

dollar-euro notes

The US dollar drifted lower against its most major counterparts in the European session on Thursday, with political uncertainty in the US and global economic growth worries denting sentiment.

With the shutdown entering the sixth day on Thursday, President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats remained deadlocked over funding for Mexican border wall.

Trump retained its harder stance, saying that he’ll do “whatever it takes” to get money for border security.

With no deal in sight, no House votes have been scheduled for Thursday, indicating that the shutdown would continue for another day.

Worries that the US and China may not agree on a long term trade deal anytime in the foreseeable future also weighed on sentiment.

Data from the Labor Department showed a slight drop in first-time claims for US unemployment benefits in the week ended December 22.

The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 216,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 217,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 217,000 from the 214,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The currency has been trading in a negative territory against its major counterparts in the Asian session.

The greenback fell back to 1.1407 against the euro, from a high of 1.1352 hit at 5:00 pm ET. If the greenback falls further, 1.15 is possibly seen as its next support level.

The greenback dropped to 0.9876 against the franc, after rising to 0.9957 at 5:15 pm ET. On the downside, 0.96 is likely seen as the next support level for the greenback.

Reversing from an early high of 111.36 against the yen, the greenback weakened to 110.68. The greenback is poised to challenge support around the 108.00 region.

On the flip side, the greenback held steady against the pound, after having advanced to a weekly high of 1.2616 at 5:30 am ET. The pair closed yesterday’s deals at 1.2633. The greenback advanced to a 1-1/2-month high of 0.6697 against the kiwi, 6-day high of 0.7029 against the aussie and a 1-1/2-year high of 1.3660 against the loonie, from its early low of 0.6741, 6-day low of 0.7078 and a 3-day low of 1.3566, respectively. The greenback is likely to challenge resistance around 0.65 against the kiwi, 0.69 against the aussie and 1.38 against the loonie.

Source: MORNINGSTAR

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