Investing.com - The dollar continued to climb against the other major currencies on Thursday, as dovish comments by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi continued to dominate investors' attention.
The dollar was sharply higher against the euro, with EUR/USD down 1.46% to three-week lows of 1.1174.
The single currency was hit after ECB President Mario Draghi said it will "reexamine" its monetary policy in December, hinting at the possibility for further easing measures.
Speaking at the ECB's monthly press conference, Mr. Draghi added that the ECB's quantitative easing program is set to run until 2016 or beyond if necessary.
Mr. Draghi also said that downside risks have emerged for growth and the inflation outlook in the euro area.
The comments came shortly after the ECB said it was maintaining its benchmark interest rate at a record-low 0.05%, in line with market expectations.
In the U.S., the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending October 17 increased by 3,000 to 259,000 from the previous week’s total of 256,000. Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 9,000 to 265,000.
Separately, the U.S. National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales increased by 4.7% to 5.55 million units last month from 5.30 million in August. Analysts had expected existing home sales to rise 1.4% to 5.38 million units in September.
The dollar was higher against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.40% at 120.39.
Elsewhere, the dollar was steady against the pound, with GBP/USD at 1.5413 and higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF rallying 1.18% to 0.9708.
The U.K. Office for National Statistics reported on Thursday that retail sales surged by 1.9% last month, blowing past forecasts for a gain of 0.3%. Year-on-year, retail sales increased by 6.5% in September.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, jumped 1.7% last month, easily surpassing forecasts for a 0.3% increase.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were stronger, with AUD/USD up 0.14% at 0.7219 and with NZD/USD jumping 1.11% to 0.6781.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD slipped 0.19% to trade at 1.3110 after Statistics Canada reported that retail sales rose 0.5% in August, beating expectations for a 0.1% uptick.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, were flat last month, compared to expectations for a 0.1%.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 1.01% at 96.05, the highest level since October 6.