The dollar edged lower against major rivals after fresh economic reports showed greater-than-expected jobless claims and larger-than-expected trade deficit. The trade gap widened 5.3% to a new monthly record of $68.5 billion, the Commerce Department said. The previous record was $67.84 billion in October. Analysts surveyed by MarketWatch had expected the deficit to increase to $66.4 billion. Separately, initial applications for U.S. state unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose by 8,000 to 303,000 in the week ending March 4, the Labor Department said. Economists expected a slight drop in initial claims to about 293,000. Overnight, the yen rallied across the broad after the Bank of Japan moved to scrap its five-year old deflation-fighting ultra-easy monetary policy. At last check, the euro was up 0.03% at $1.1927, while the dollar was down 0.3% at 117.42 yen