The US dollar weakened against its Canadian counterpart toward the end of the week as the broader financial markets popped in afternoon trading. The US economy saw another increase in initial jobless claims, and investors are still monitoring the explosion in coronavirus cases. Treasury yields also turned flat after meteoric growth over the last several sessions.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits hit a five-month high of 965,000 in the week ending January 9, up from 784,000 in the previous week, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The market had penciled in a reading of 795,000.

Continuing jobless claims hit 5.271 million. The four-week average, which removes week-to-week volatility, topped 834,000.

However, another 284,470 applications were filed through temporary federal-relief programs. So, when you toss additional federal and state claims into the calculations, the government received 1.44 million applications. Since the start of the COVID-19 public health crisis in March, combined claims have not declined below one million.

In other data, export prices increased by 1.1% in December, and import prices jumped 0.9% last month.

On Wednesday, the US government reported that the inflation rate jumped 0.4% in December, led by higher gasoline and food prices. The core inflation rate, which strips volatile food and energy, edged up 0.1% last month.

On the housing front, mortgage applications soared 16.7% in the week ending January 8, reports the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The 30-year mortgage rate inched 0.2% higher to 2.88%.

Markets will be monitoring President-Elect Joe Biden’s announcement for greater stimulus and relief spending. Biden has promised to increase stimulus checks, raise COVID-19 funding, and a plethora of other goodies that would spark short-term gains in the broader financial markets.

The US bond market was mixed on Thursday. The benchmark 10-year Treasury rose 0.022% to 1.11%. The one-year note dipped below 0.1%, while the 30-year bond picked up 0.034% to 1.856%.

The US Dollar Index (DXY) turned negative in intraday trading, sliding 0.17% to 90.20, from an opening of 90.36. The index has had a strong start to 2021, defying market expectations by rising 0.7% in the first two weeks of the calendar year.

The USD/CAD currency pair tumbled 0.46% to 1.2639, from an opening of 1.2705, at 17:24 GMT on Thursday. The EUR/USD was flat at 1.2163.