Investing.com - The euro fell to the day’s lows against the firmer dollar on Thursday as concerns over lackluster U.S. first quarter growth eased and investors looked ahead to Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for April on Friday.
EUR/USD fell 0.56% to 1.1421, extending its pullback from Tuesday’s highs of 1.1615, the strongest level since August.
Demand for the dollar continued to be underpinned after upbeat U.S. economic reports eased worries about a slowdown in growth in the first three months of the year.
Data on Wednesday showing that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed more than expected in March was seen as likely to boost up the government’s revisions to first quarter growth.
Another report showed that the Institute of Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index rose to its highest level since December last month.
The reports offset ADP nonfarm payrolls data showing that U.S. private sector hiring grew at the slowest rate in three years in April.
The ADP report came ahead of the U.S. government’s employment report for April on Friday, which is expected to show that the economy added 202,000 jobs last month.
The dollar was also higher against the yen, with USD/JPY rising 0.24% to 107.28, off Tuesday’s lows of 105.54, the weakest level since October 2014.
Trade volumes remained thin with Japanese financial markets closed for the Golden Week holiday until Friday.
Sterling slipped lower, with GBP/USD down 0.21% at 1.4464 after survey data showed that U.K. service sector output grew at the slowest rate in over three years in April, adding to fears that the economy is losing momentum.
The service sector was hit by uncertainty over the European Union membership referendum on June 23, which delayed new orders and by the introduction of the new living wage which has added to cost increases for employers.
The report came after similar surveys of the manufacturing and construction sectors earlier in the week pointed to slowing growth at the start of the second quarter.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.43% to 93.68.
The index had hit a low of 91.89 on Tuesday, the weakest level since January 2015.