By CountingPips.com
The U.S. Dollar has been mixed in the forex markets on a day with little U.S. economic data released while the American stock markets have traded higher today. The dollar has advanced versus the British pound and the Japanese yen while declining against the Canadian dollar and New Zealand dollar in forex trading as of 1:14 pm EST in the afternoon of the 
US trading session. The euro, Swiss franc, and Australian dollar are all trading virtually unchanged against the American currency from their opening day exchange rates.
The U.S. stock markets are having a positive session today with the Dow gaining around 100 points, the Nasdaq increasing by over 25 points while the S&P 500 is up by over 10 points at time of writing. Oil has edged higher to $81.43 per barrel while gold has been unchanged at the $1,088.60 per ounce level.
Weekly Jobless Claims at six week low
U.S. weekly jobless claims decreased by more than expected in the week that ended on March 20th, according to a release by the U.S. Labor Department today. New jobless claims fell by 14,000 workers to a total of 442,000 unemployed workers, marking the lowest jobless claims total in six weeks. The 4-week moving average of unemployed workers decreased by 11,000 workers from the previous week to a total of 453,750.
Market forecasts were expecting jobless claims to edge down to 450,000 workers following the prior week’s 456,000 claims.
Meanwhile, workers seeking continuing claims for unemployment benefits for the week ending March 13th also decreased for the week. Continuing claims fell by 54,000 workers to a total of 4,648,000 unemployed workers. The four week moving average of continuing claims dropped by 36,500 workers to a total of 4,689,000.
FOREX: USD/JPY Hourly Chart – The US Dollar continues to fly high against the Japanese Yen today in forex trading after breaking out of its recent trading range yesterday. The USD/JPY is gaining for a third straight day and now trading at its highest level since January 8, 2010 when the pair traded as high as 93.47.
