The dollar extended declines against the yen on Thursday after data showed initial U.S. weekly jobless claims came in higher than expected.

The dollar dropped to 87.49 yen JPY= after the data from around 87.61 prior to the release of the data. The euro fell to $1.2357 EUR= from $1.2369 prior to the data's release. The euro had already risen 1 percent against the dollar before the data's release.

The U.S. Labor department reported that initial state jobless benefit claims rose to 472,000 in the latest week. Markets were expecting claims of 452,000.

The dollar was down 1.1 percent against the Swiss franc CHF= prior to the release of the report. (Reporting by Nick Olivari; Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)

Unemployment Vs U.S.