The dollar was lower against the euro and yen early Thursday, ahead of the latest monthly Philadelphia Federal Reserve manufacturing survey, after other factory activity reports Wednesday indicated the sector is rebounding. In recent trades, the euro was up 0.2% at $1.2141 and the dollar down 0.2% at 108.90 yen. There was scant reaction in the currency markets to news of an unexpected increase in residential construction last month and a rise in jobless claims in the latest week. The Commerce Department reported that housing starts rose 0.2% in May to a seasonally adjusted 2.009 million annualized units. Economists polled by Dow Jones were looking for starts to slip to 2.03 million units. There were 1,000 new jobless claims last week, slightly more than economists had projected. According to Action Economics, the euro was lifted by heavy purchases on the part of an unidentified major financial institution. Currency desks could get a fresh source of direction from the Philadelphia manufacturing June survey. The Dow Jones forecast is for a headline figure reading of 9.4, up from 7.3 in April. On Wednesday strong Empire State manufacturing and industrial production reports instilled a sense that the soft patch seen in the sector earlier in the year has passed.