The U.S. dollar extended its New York session's decline against other major currencies in early Asian trading on Thursday amid improved market sentiment.

Risk appetite improved after data showing U.S. housing starts jumped to the highest level in almost four years in June. Strong corporate earnings from U.S. bellwethers and the Federal Reserve's commitment to take new steps to support the economy if necessary also cheered investors.

The nation's top central banker on Wednesday warned lawmakers that they may push the U.S. economy into recession unless they back away from an impending "fiscal cliff."

The fragile recovery, already showing obvious signs of weakness, will be severely damaged by spending cuts and tax increases that will automatically kick in at the start of 2013. Congress must act now to restore confidence amid a worrisome drop in business spending and new hiring, he added.

The greenback fell to 0.9771 against the franc and 1.5669 against the pound with 0.97 and 1.57 seen as the next downside target levels, respectively. The greenback ended yesterday's deals at 0.9780 against the franc and 1.5656 against the pound.

Against the European currency, the greenback that closed Wednesday's deals at 1.2285 slipped to as low as 1.2302. On the downside, the greenback may target the 1.235 level.

The greenback dropped to 78.48 against the yen, its weakest level since June 5. On the downside, 78.00 is seen as the next target level for the greenback. The pair ended Wednesday's deals at 78.82.

The U.S. currency declined to a 2-week low of 0.8021 against the NZ dollar and a 2-1/2-month low of 1.0400 against the Australian dollar and the next downside target level for the greenback is seen at 0.805 and 1.045, respectively. At yesterday's close, the kiwi-greenback and the aussie-greenback pairs traded at 0.8006 and 1.0365, respectively.

Against its Canadian counterpart, the greenback slipped to 1.0092 for the first time since May 16. If the greenback weakens further, it may target the 1.005 level. The greenback finished yesterday's trading at 1.0104 against the loonie.

In the European session, Swiss trade data for June, Eurozone current account data for May and U.K. retail sales for June are due.

Canada wholesale sales for May, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended July 14, existing home sales data for June, results of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's manufacturing survey for July and leading economic indicators index for June are scheduled for release in the New York morning session.

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