Dollar in sharp drop against euro
European currency jumps to $1.34 as the greenback remains under pressure.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The dollar fell against other currencies Thursday, with the euro jumping 4 cents, despite a dismal jobs report and meandering stock prices.
The euro surged to a session high of $1.3406 after breaking through the key support level of $1.31 in early morning Asian trading. It had been trading in a range between $1.25 and $1.30 over the last few weeks.
At about 4:30 p.m. ET the euro was trading at 1.3353, up about 2.5% from $1.3026 late Wednesday in New York.
Britain's pound was trading higher at $1.5024 from $1.4807.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar fell to buy ¥91.61 from ¥92.62.
The dollar's retreat comes as stock prices slid after the government said weekly jobless claims rose to a 26-year high.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial filings for state jobless benefits surged to 573,000 for the week ended Dec. 6. It was an increase of 58,000 from a revised 515,000 claims in the previous week and the highest number of claims since 1982.
Stocks rose in the first few hours of trade despite the grim economic data. But losses accelerated later in the day with the Dow Jones industrial average closing more than 2% lower.
Currency traders view the dollar as a safe haven and flock to it when the stock market is volatile. But the dollar has remained under significant pressure despite relatively subdued trading on Wall Street.
Thursday's decline is "a stark example of how things may be changing," said Sacha Tihanyi, currency strategist at Scotia Capital in Toronto.
Still, beyond the general weakness in the overall economic outlook, there was not one particular catalyst for Thursday's selloff.
"You can't point at any one strong factor right now," that is driving the U.S. dollar lower, said Tihanyi. 
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