(RTTNews) - The dollar edged lower versus the euro Thursday morning in New York, giving back another portion of its recent gains ahead of the Christmas holiday. Weekly jobless claims and durable goods data are about to hit the tape, and could give the dollar a boost if more encouraging than the economic reports already released this week. Economist see jobless claim filings dropping by 10,000 to 470,000 last week. Traders will be presented with a report on durable goods orders for November by the Commerce Department at 8.30 a.m. ET. Economists expect that the durable goods orders rose 0.5% for the month. This morning's biggest news came from Capitol Hill, where the United States Senate passed a sweeping overhaul of the health care system early Thursday morning by a 60-39 party line margin, providing coverage to more than 30 million people. The dollar slipped to 1.4400 versus the euro, dropping a full 2 cents from a 3-month high near 1.4200 reached earlier this week. With the loss, the dollar moved back toward a 16-month low near 1.5100 set in November. Against the yen, the dollar drifted lower to 91.20 overnight, moving away from a 2-month peak of 91.86 yesterday. Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa reiterated that the central bank is prepared to act swiftly and decisively if concerns arise that financial market stability may be compromised. Meanwhile, the buck continued to fall toward parity with its Canadian counterpart, slipping to C$1.0450.

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