Foreign exchange market. American session: the U.S. dollar traded higher against the most major currencies despite the weaker-than-expected number of initial jobless claims from the U.S.

The U.S. dollar traded higher against the most major currencies despite the weaker-than-expected number of initial jobless claims from the U.S. The number of initial jobless claims in the week ending April 04 in the U.S. rose by 14,000 to 281,000 from 267,000 in the previous week. The previous week's figure was revised up from 268,000. Analysts had expected the number of initial jobless claims to increase to 271,000.

Wholesale inventories in the U.S. rose 0.3% in February, missing expectations for a 0.1% gain, after a 0.4% increase in January. January's figure was revised down from a 0.3% rise.

The increase was driven by lower wholesale sales.

The euro declined against the U.S. dollar. German industrial production increased 0.2% in February, exceeding expectations for a 0.1% rise, after a 0.4% decline in January. January's figure was revised down from a 0.6% increase.

Concerns over Greece's debt problems continue to weigh on the euro. Greece repaid the International Monetary Fund (IMF) tranche of 448 million euros today.

The British pound traded lower against the U.S. dollar. The Bank of England kept its monetary policy unchanged today.

The U.K. trade deficit in goods widened to £10.3 billion in February from £9.2 billion in January, missing expectations for a deficit of £9.1 billion. January's figure was revised down from a deficit of £8.4 billion.

The increase of the deficit was driven by a decline in exports of goods to countries outside the European Union.

The U.K. Halifax house price index climbed 0.4% in March, after a 0.4% decline in February. February's figure was revised down from a 0.3% decrease.

The Canadian dollar traded lower against the U.S. dollar after the mixed Canadian housing market data. Building permits in Canada declined 0.9% in February, missing expectations for a 5.1% gain, after a 12.3% drop in January. January's figure was revised up from a 12.9% fall.

New housing price index in Canada rose 0.2% in February, exceeding expectations for a 0.1% gain, after a 0.1% decrease in January.

The increase was driven by gains in the Toronto and Oshawa region where prices rose 0.3% as some builders offered promotional packages.

The New Zealand dollar traded lower against the U.S. dollar. In the overnight trading session, the kiwi traded higher against the greenback in the absence of any economic reports from New Zealand.

The Australian dollar traded lower against the U.S. dollar. In the overnight trading session, the Aussie traded mixed against the greenback. The Australian Industry Group's construction index supported the Aussie. The index rose to 50.1 in March from 43.9 in February.

The Japanese yen traded lower against the U.S. dollar. In the overnight trading session, the yen traded lower against the greenback. Japan's preliminary machine tool orders dropped to 14.6% in March from 28.9% in February.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) released its monthly economic report on Wednesday. The BoJ said that the economy recovered moderately. Exports are expected to rise due to the recovery in overseas economies.