The dollar gained some ground on Thursday after U.S. jobless claims came in lower than expected, suggesting the U.S. economy is on track for further interest rate increases.

U.S. initial jobless claims dropped for the third consecutive week to 302,000 in the week ended Feb. 12 from 304,000 in the previous week, according to the Labor Department.

By early-morning, the euro traded slightly lower at $1.3020 . Against the yen, the dollar rose to 105.72 yen , up 0.3 percent from late Wednesday’s levels.

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