U.S. Dollar Weakens After Trump's Comments

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar declined against its major counterparts in the New York session on Thursday, following President Donald Trump's remarks to lower rates further amid weaker oil prices.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump called for lower rates across the globe.

"I'll demand that interest rates drop immediately," he said. "And likewise, they should be dropping all over the world. Interest rates should follow us all over."

Trump's remarks came before the Fed's monetary policy meeting scheduled next week.

In economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing initial jobless claims saw further upside in the week ended January 18th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose to 223,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 217,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 220,000.

With the increase, jobless claims continued to regain ground after hitting a nearly eleven-month low in the week ended January 4th.

The greenback retreated to 1.0437 against the euro, 1.2375 against the pound and 0.9061 against the franc, from its early 2-day highs of 1.0371, 1.2292 and 0.9108, respectively. The greenback is poised to challenge support around 1.07 against the euro, 1.26 against the pound and 0.88 against the franc.

The greenback fell to 0.5685 against the kiwi and 1.4334 against the loonie, from its early 2-day highs of 0.5646 and 1.4413, respectively. The greenback is seen finding support around 0.60 against the kiwi and 1.37 against the loonie.

The greenback declined to 155.85 against the yen, from an early 8-day high of 156.75. The next possible support for the greenback is seen around the 147.00 level.

The greenback touched 0.6299 against the aussie, its lowest level since January 6. The currency is likely to locate support around the 0.65 level.