The U.S. dollar weakened against the other major currencies in the early European session on Thursday, in the wake of disappointing U.S. data overnight.

Data from the Commerce Department showed Wednesday that U.S. durable goods orders fell by 1.4 percent in February following a downwardly revised 2.0 percent increase in January. Economists had expected orders to climb by 0.7 percent compared to the 2.8 percent jump that had been reported for the previous month.

Moreover, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans comments at the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum in London also weighed on the currency.

Charles Evans said that there no need to raise interest rates at a time when inflation is so low. "I see no compelling reason for us to be in a hurry to tighten financial conditions until then," he said.

Evans said, "The stronger dollar presents a clear disinflationary pressure through its influence on U.S. import prices."

Last week, the Fed's official policy statement removed a reference to being "patient" before tightening. Also, the Fed is now likely to hike interest rates later rather than sooner, weighing on the currency.

Traders await the U.S. weekly jobless claims and U.S. services PMI due later today, which may give more insights about the economy.

In the European trading today, the U.S. dollar fell to 118.32 against the yen for the first time since February 20, from an early high of 119.56. If the greenback extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around the 116.58 area.

Pulling away from an early high of 1.2532 against the Canadian dollar and against the euro, the greenback slipped to a near 3-week lows of 1.2411 and 1.1051, respectively. The next possible downside target for the greenback lies around 1.22 against the loonie and 1.11 against the euro.

Against the pound, the greenback edged down to 2-day low of 1.4910 from an early high of 1.4871. The greenback is likely to find support around the 1.52 area.

The greenback depreciated to nearly a 4-week low of 0.9518 against the Swiss franc, from an early high of 0.9505. The greenback may test support near the 0.92 region.

Against the Australia and New Zealand dollars, the greenback edged down to 0.7880 and 0.764 from early 3-day highs of 0.7799 and 0.7569, respectively. On the downside, 0.80 against the aussie and 0.78 against the kiwi are seen as the next support levels for the greenback.

Looking ahead, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended March 21 and Markit's U.S. PMI reports for March are slated for release in the New York session.

At 9:00 am ET, U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart will deliver a speech about the economic outlook and monetary policy at the Engage International Investment Education Symposium, in Detroit.

Subsequently, European Central Bank president Mario Draghi will address the Italian parliament's finance and EU policy committees in Rome at 9:15 am ET. After 15 minutes, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz is expected to speak at the Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce, in London.

At 1:30 pm ET, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney will hold a press conference about his role as Chair of the Financial Stability Board, in Frankfurt. After half-an-hour, Swiss National Bank member Fritz Zurbrugg will deliver a speech about monetary policy after the cap at the Money Market Event, in Zurich.

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