(fxcue news) - The U.S. dollar firmed against its major counterparts on Thursday as bond yields moved up, and the Euro fell after the European Central Bank left its key interest rates unchanged. The greenback shed ground despite continued optimism about some interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year. In economic news today, a report from the Labor Department said initial jobless claims in the U.S. rose to 243,000 in the week ended July 13th, an increase of 20,000 from the previous week's revised level of 223,000. Economists had expected initial jobless claims to edge up to 230,000 from the 222,000 originally reported for the previous week. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia released a separate report showing the pace of growth reaccelerated by much more than expected in the month of July. The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity jumped to 13.9 in July from 1.3 in June, with a positive reading indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 2.9. The Conference Board said in its report that the leading economic index edged down by 0.2% in June after falling by a revised 0.4% in May. Economists had expected the leading economic index to dip by 0.3% compared to the 0.5% decline originally reported for the previous month. The dollar index climbed to 104.23, gaining nearly 0.5%. Against the Euro, the dollar firmed to 1.0899 from 1.0940. The Governing Council, led by ECB President Christine Lagarde, held the main refinancing rate at 4.25%, the deposit facility rate at 3.75% and the marginal lending rate at 4.5%. "The Governing Council is determined to ensure that inflation returns to its 2% medium-term target in a timely manner," the ECB said. "It will keep policy rates sufficiently restrictive for as long as necessary to achieve this aim." The dollar strengthened to 1.2943 a unit of Pound Sterling, gaining from 1.3009. Against the Japanese currency, the dollar firmed to 157.39 yen, more than 0.75% up from Wednesday's close of 156.20 yen. The Aussie weakened against the dollar, dropping to US$ 0.6707. Against Swiss franc, the dollar advanced nearly 0.5% to CHF 0.8877, and against the Loonie, the dollar firmed to C$ 1.3707, up modestly from the previous close.