The U.S. dollar was lower against its most major counterparts in the European session on Wednesday, as a rise in fist-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits suggested a slowdown in the labor market recovery.

Data from the Labor Department showed that initial jobless claims climbed to 778,000, an increase of 30,000 from the previous week's revised level of 748,000.

The increase surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to drop to 730,000 from the 742,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Data from the Commerce Department showed that U.S. durable goods orders jumped more than expected in October.

The durable goods orders jumped by 1.3 percent in October after spiking by 2.1 percent in September. Economists had expected durable goods orders to climb by 0.9 percent.

Separate data showed that the spike in gross domestic product in the third quarter was unrevised from the initial estimate.

The Commerce Department said GDP skyrocketed by an annual rate of 33.1 percent in the third quarter after plunging by 31.4 percent in the second quarter. The unrevised reading on GDP matched economist estimates.

The Fed minutes are due at 2:00 pm ET, with investors looking for clues on the direction of monetary policy.

Progress in development of coronavirus vaccines raised hopes for a quicker economic recovery.

U.S. political uncertainty faded and President elect Joe Biden and his team started the process of transition into the White House.

Biden's selection of former Fed chair Janet Yellen as Treasury Secretary also cheered investors.

The greenback weakened in the Asian session, as encouraging vaccine news and the formal start of U.S. President elect Biden's transition to the White House underpinned risk sentiment.

The greenback fell back to 1.1915 against the euro, heading to pierce its early near a 3-month low of 1.1930. The pair was worth 1.1890 when it closed deals on Tuesday. On the downside, 1.22 is possibly seen as its next support level.

The European Central Bank said lenders might require higher loan loss provisioning amid missed payments and rising number of corporate defaults.

In the latest Financial Stability Review, the ECB said since the global financial crisis, weak profitability prospects continue to weigh on bank valuations despite the increased resilience of euro area banks.

The greenback eased to 1.3359 against the pound, from a high of 1.3305 hit at 6:00 am ET. This may be compared to a 2-day low of 1.3384 touched during early European trading. The greenback is likely to challenge support around the 1.35 level.

Pulling away from a 2-day high of 0.9139 seen at 4:45 am ET, the greenback moved down to 0.9101 against the franc. At yesterday's trading close, the pair was quoted at 0.9110. If the greenback falls further, 0.88 is likely seen as its next support level.

The greenback held steady against the yen, after having declined to 104.34 at 5:00 am ET. The pair had closed Tuesday's deals at 104.42.

Data from the Bank of Japan showed that Japan's services producer prices declined in October.

The services producer price index fell 0.6 percent on a yearly basis, reversing a 1.4 percent rise in September.

The University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index for November, as well as new home sales and personal income and spending data for October will be published shortly.

The Fed minutes from the November 4-5 meeting are set for release at 2:00 pm ET.

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