European session review: USD weakens after Fed's Chair statements and a climb in weekly jobless claims

USD traded lower against its major counterparts in the European session on Thursday, as market participants assessed the Fed's Chair remarks and the weekly jobless claims. The U.S. Dollar Index (DYX) is down 0.77% at 100.27.

The Fed Chairman, Jerome Powell, who appeared on NBC this morning, and said that the central bank "will not run out of ammunition" and that they "have policy room for more action". He also added that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the U.S. economy and that the economic activity is expected to resume in the second half of the year. 

The data from the Labor Department revealed the number of applications for unemployment benefits climbed much more than forecast last week as businesses across the country had shut down amid a policy of social distancing aimed at keeping the coronavirus from freely spreading. According to the report, the initial claims for unemployment benefits jumped to a seasonally adjusted 3,283,000 for the week ended March 21. That was the highest reading since the series began in 1967. Economists had expected 1,000,000 new claims last week. 

Investors welcomed the U.S. Senate’s passage of a $2 trillion fiscal stimulus package to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus, but there are already signals that some U.S. states will need more money for medical supplies.