U.S. dollar gains as initial jobless claims drop

NEW YORK, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar strengthened on Thursday as the U.S. jobless claims report showed a decline in initial claims.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, rose 0.59 percent to 100.8764 in late trading, reaching the highest level in a week.

U.S. initial jobless claims fell by 9,000 from the previous week to 228,000 for the week ending July 15, the U