The dollar gained against the majors in New York as traders prepared for the release of US Non Farm payrolls.
The US Non Farm payrolls will be closely scrutinized by the market for signs that US employers hired more workers as the world's largest economy continues to expand. The recent positive trend in initial jobless claims may shed some light on the upcoming event as first time unemployment filings fell to the four-year lows.
Dollar bulls received another boost today as ISM non-manufacturing rose to 59.8 in February, up from 59.2 in January, printing slightly below market expectations of 56. The increase in services was encouraging to the greenback bulls, as services comprise two-thirds of the US economy.
The dollar was quoted at 1.3106-09 against the euro, 1.9065-70 versus the cable and 105.26-30 against the Japanese yen at 23:00 GMT.
Wall Street stocks remained subdued as advancing oil prices dampened investor confidence.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2 percent to 10,833.03.
The Standard and Poor's 500 index remained unchanged at 1,210.46.
The NASDAQ Composite shed 0.4 percent to 2,058.40.
The aerospace giant Boeing, which advanced 3.8 percent to $57.40, lifted the Dow 30 higher, while tech heavy NASDAQ was dragged lower by Apple Computer shares, down 5.3 percent at $41.79.
Retailers were in play following positive retail sales data. Talbot's, a clothing chain, was up 8 percent to $31.73. Aeropostale, added 1.9 percent to $33.70. Starbucks, the coffee chain, rose 1.5 percent to $53.59. Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer gained 1.8 percent to $52.86 after posting an increase in same store sales. Pier 1 Imports lost 0.2 percent to $18.49 after lowering sales guidance. Target gained.2 percent to $52.50.
Petsmart, a pet store chain, were 2.8 percent lower at $29.65 after the company announced it will restate some of its previous results.
ChevronTexaco lost 0.6 percent to $61.19 and Unocal rallied 12.3 percent to $60.10 after the report surfaced that Chevron was looking to buy Unocal.
The NYMEX crude oil futures contract for April delivery rallied 45 cents to $53.50 a barrel, briefly trading close to the all-time high at $55.20. The oil prices advanced on speculation that the demand for oil and oil based products will continue to grow outpacing supply.
COMEX gold futures contract for April delivery lost $2.10 to $431.70 per ounce as the dollar gained against the majors. The US treasuries remained unchanged as traders remained on the sidelines ahead of the February US job report. The US economy is expected to have added 225 thousand jobs in February. The 10 Year Treasury Note was unchanged at 96 15/16, yielding 4.38 percent. The 10 Year Treasury Note futures contract lost 0.02 to 109-23.