The dollar was slightly lower against major currencies in afternoon trade, as investors locked in some gains made earlier today ahead of tomorrow's Thanksgiving holiday, dealers said.
The dollar rose against the euro after a decline in the West German Ifo business climate index heightened concerns that the largest European economy may be heading into recession, dealers said.
The US currency was also bolstered by a sharp decline in weekly jobless claims, which declined 15,000 to 427,000 for the week ended Nov 17 from the previous week. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for jobless claims to rise by 12,000 to 456,000.
Later in the day, however, the dollar fell against the Swiss franc and the euro on some profit-taking as market players elected to secure recent gains ahead of tomorrow's holiday, dealers said.
"Activity was very light as many investors had left early for the holiday tomorrow," said David Ethridge, a currency analyst at MMS International. "The market has been pretty dead."
Among other US economic data, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index rose to 83.9 in the final November reading, from 83.5 in the preliminary reading.
Activity is expected to be light on Friday, with little economic and corporate news expected. The stock market will close at 1.00 pm on Friday.