Dollar Falls Against Yen as Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Rise

By Ye Xie

Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar fell against the yen as a government report showed initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week.

The U.S. currency dropped 0.3 percent to 95.43 yen at 8:42 a.m. in New York, from 95.73 yesterday. The euro traded at $1.2509, compared with $1.2489 yesterday. The euro declined 0.1 percent to 119.41 yen from 119.55.

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment insurance unexpectedly rose last week to the highest level since 1992, a sign the labor market is deteriorating as the economic slump deepens.

Initial jobless claims increased by 27,000 to a higher- than-forecast 542,000 in the week ended Nov. 15, from 515,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The number of people staying on benefit rolls the prior week rose to 4.012 million, the most since December 1982.

The euro pared its gain versus the greenback as the jobs report encouraged investors to take refuge in U.S. assets.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ye Xie in New York at yxie6@bloomberg.net