The US dollar index is up by 0.3% at 101.31 as of 8:36 a.m. ET.
The uptick follows the release of data from the Commerce Department, which showed that durable goods orders surged more than forecast in October.
Orders for things built to last such as appliances rose 4.8% (1.7% forecast.) Total orders were lifted by a near-100% month-on-month increase in orders for commercial aircraft. Orders for computers and related products were also strong during the month.
Moreover, initial jobless claims came in essentially as expected. Claims, which count people applying for unemployment insurance for the first time, came in at 251,000, slightly above economists' forecasts of 250,000.
This marks the 90th consecutive week claims have been below 300,000.