India, Feb. 8 -- The U.S. dollar appreciated against its major counterparts in the European session on Thursday, as a drop in jobless claims last week dashed hopes of imminent rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
Data from the Labor Department showed that initial jobless claims slipped to 218,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised level of 227,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 220,000 from the 224,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Comments from policymakers dampening prospects for early and steep interest rate cuts further supported the currency.
Boston Fed President Susan Collins said on Wednesday that rate cuts could come later this year.
But she hasn't given any timetab...