The U.S. dollar drifted lower against the euro Thursday as markets awaited U.S. economic data due later in the week.
The euro bought US$1.2952 in early European trading, up from US$1.2923 in New York late Wednesday. The British pound rose to US$1.8799 from US$1.8788.
The dollar also fell against the Japanese yen, dropping to 106.82 yen from 107.53 yen.
The U.S. currency's downward drift came amid growing expectations it won't get much more of a boost from Friday's release of key U.S. and Japanese economic data, because expectations have already played out on the market.
On Friday, the Japanese central bank will release the results of its "tankan" quarterly business sentiment survey. Later in the day, the United States will give payrolls data for March.
The tankan is expected to give a weak reading, which tends to push the dollar higher because of pessimism about the Japanese economy.
U.S. non-farm payrolls are expected to have increased by 225,000 in March, after the economy created 262,000 new jobs in the previous month. Optimism about the U.S. economy tends to push the dollar higher.
Worries about the wide U.S. trade and budget deficits sent the euro surging to an all-time high of US$1.3667 at the end of December. While those concerns remain, the dollar has stabilized this year.
The currency enjoyed a rebound last week after the U.S. Federal Reserve boosted interest rates by a quarter point and issued a hawkish statement on stronger inflationary pressures.
The Fed is expected to raise rates further throughout the year. Higher U.S. interest rates tend to help the dollar by making assets denominated in the currency more attractive to investors.