NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar rose on Thursday, boosted by weakness in the euro after the European Central Bank's July policy meeting minutes, but the U.S currency was volatile as rumors swirled about the possible resignation of Gary Cohn, director of the U.S. National Economic Council.
Following rumors of Cohn's departure, the White House released a statement saying he "intends to remain in his position."That helped calm markets as Cohn, along with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, is seen as pivotal to U.S. President Donald Trump's economic agenda of tax cuts and infrastructure spending.Still, analysts said, the dollar was in an unenviable position, with inflammatory news headlines from the White House weighing on its already weak position."We had yesterday’s Fed minutes that certainly didn’t do the dollar any favors," said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington.The dollar fell on Wednesday after the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's July policy meeting that showed policymakers growing more worried about weak U.S. inflation."We have to look at it in that context, where the dollar's already on a somewhat shaky footing," Esiner said.The currency whipsawed for most of the day as news about Cohn and an attack in Barcelona that left at least 13 dead sent traders to safe-haven currencies like the Japanese yen and Swiss franc. The dollar fell 0.55 percent against the yen