The U.S. Labor Department data released on Thursday, April 24, 2008 showed that unemployment benefit claims for last week dropped by 33,000 to 342,000, better than the increase of 3,000 which was expected by most economists. This data, coupled with expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve may soon be ending their rate cutting cycle, helped the U.S. Dollar to hover around close ranges against major currencies on Friday morning in trading in Tokyo.