The Swiss franc firmed slightly against the dollar in early trade on Thursday ahead of fresh U.S. data which will be eyed for new evidence about the strength of the U.S economy's recovery. The dollar was trading at 1.2446/53 francs, down from levels around 1.2490/93 late in Europe on Wednesday as traders positioned themselves ahead of the August Philadelphia Fed survey as well as weekly U.S. jobless claims due later in the session. The euro was steady at 1.5363/67 francs, compared to around 1.5367/71 on Wednesday.////