The major currencies were mixed in the Thursday session as US equities edged up marginally into positive territory, following a sharp rebound in the Shanghai Composite – which rallied by 4.52% overnight. The dollar eased lower against the euro and pound but largely remained confined within its recent range while the yen also relinquished some of its recent strength.

The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index improved by more than forecast in August, expanding to a reading of 4.2 and beating estimates for an improvement to -2.0 from -7.0 in July. Meanwhile, the leading economic indicators index fell short of consensus forecasts for an unchanged monthly reading at 0.7%, instead slipping to 0.6%. Weekly jobless claims were also slightly higher than the prior week, edging up to 576k from 558k previously.