By Deborah Levine
NEW YORK (Marketwatch) -- The dollar pared a loss versus major currencies early Thursday after the U.S. Labor Department said jobless claims in the latest week fell by 28,000 to 452,000, lower than expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. The euro changed hands at $1.4391, compared to $1.4403 before the data and up from $1.4287 in North American trading late Wednesday. The dollar index (DXY 77.60, -0.30, -0.38%) , a measure of the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of major rivals, fell 0.3% at 77.687. Separately, the Commerce Department said orders for durable goods rose 0.2% last month. Traders noted very little activity in the holiday-thinned trading session, with markets expected to close early for Christmas Eve.
