In the currency market, the dollar dipped a bit against the euro. Late Thursday, the euro was trading at $1.4171 vs. $1.4138 on Wednesday.

According to Marketwatch.com, “News from Europe, a lack of major changes from policymakers in England and Canada, and an inkling of positive data out of the U.S. added up to more investor confidence about the possibility of a global economic recovery, reducing the desire for the relative safety of the U.S. currency.”

Or, as Marc Chandler of Brown Brothers Harriman pronounced: “Now that the world economy has been taken away from the edge of the abyss, people don’t need a safe haven.”

The euro was boosted as the European Central Bank left its key lending rate at 1%, as expected, with President Jean-Claude Trichet saying he finds that “appropriate.” Analysts said he doesn’t appear to see the need for more monetary stimulus.

Trichet said the ECB will commence covered-bond purchases next month. They are expected to total €60 billion ($84.9 billion), matching the level he outlined last month.

Back home, the day’s number was the report from the Labor Department, saying that first-time applications for jobless benefits fell 4,000 to 621,000 in the week ended May 30. Continuing claims also decreased, by 15,000, to 6.74 million in the week ended May 23. The data were slightly better than economists’ expectations.

“The downshift in claims continues but progress is painfully slow and claims at their current level are still consistent with massive declines in payrolls,” wrote Ian Shepherdson, of High Frequency Economics. “Feeble green shoots don’t stop companies laying off staff, still less actually starting to hire again.”

Source: Dollar Slides Against Euro