LONDON (AFX) - Major currencies were rangebound in quiet midday trade though the US dollar remained well-supported ahead of a raft of data this afternoon, dealers said. The dollar shed some earlier gains against the yen on repatriation flows into Japan but gained some further ground against the euro, despite fairly encouraging euro zone M3 and German industrial production data. "The brighter start to the year confirms the likelihood that Germany will emerge from recession in the first quarter," said Nigel Anderson, economist at Royal Bank of Scotland. But data this afternoon is likely to support the view that the US economy is in ruder health, said Ian Stannard, currency strategist at BNP Paribas. In particular, market players will be focusing on the Chicago PMI data. The US's relatively strong performance has reportedly been accepted by the International Monetary Fund. Reports out of Italy suggest that the IMF has increased its forecast for US GDP growth this year to 2.2 pct from a previous forecast of 1.4 pct. The dollar was also buoyed by overnight comments from US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, who said the strong dollar policy remains unchanged. "Our policy is the same. We're in the right place: strong dollar, same policy, no change," O'Neill said in an interview with CNBC when asked to react to remarks by Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William McDonough, who said the dollar is "slightly overvalued" on a purchasing power parity basis. "I'd be willing to bet you anything that he wished he hadn't engaged in some theoretical speculation" about the dollar, O'Neill said. Meanwhile the Swiss franc was steady against the euro, despite yesterday's move by the Swiss National Bank to cut in its two-week lending rate. "It's turning into a little battle between the market and the Swiss authorities," said Rob Hayward, currency strategist at ABN Amro. "Given what's going on in the Middle East, the risk are that people will be happy to buy the Swiss franc." Sterling was also well-supported against the euro after the latest opinion poll into British attitudes into the euro appear to show sentiment waning, said Hayward. Public support for UK entry into the euro fell to 38 pct in March from 42 pct in January, according to a Credit Suisse First Boston survey conducted by Martin Hamblin GfK.