WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar index stayed below the unchanged line on Thursday despite paring early losses after data showed stronger than expected private sector job growth, a jump in factory orders and an acceleration in service sector activity.
Renewed optimism about trade talks after the U.S. and Chinese officials decided to hold Ministerial level talks early October contributed as well to the dollar's rise from lower levels.
The dollar index, which dropped to 98.09 early on in the session, recovered well and was last seen hovering around 98.40, down 0.05% from previous close.
Against the euro, the dollar recovered to 1.1018, from a low of 1.1086.
The pound sterling was up 0.6% with a unit of sterling fetching $1.2329, compared to $1.2256.
The Japanese currency was down 0.55% at 106.98 yen a dollar. It had settled at 106.40 a dollar late Wednesday.
The Aussie was up 0.26% against the dollar at 0.6816.
The dollar was up marginally against the loonie at 1.3230, while it gained nearly 0.6% against Swiss franc, at 0.9864.
In economic news, data from payroll process ADP showed private sector employment surged up by 195,000 jobs in August after climbing by a downwardly revised 142,000 jobs in July. Economists had expected employment to increase by about 149,000 jobs compared to the addition of 156,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
A report from the Institute for Supply Management showed a notable acceleration in the pace of growth in U.S. service sector activity in the month of August. The ISM's non-manufacturing index climbed to 56.4 in August, after falling to 53.7 in July. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 54.0.
Data released by the Commerce Department said factory orders surged up by 1.4% in July, after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.5% in June. Economists had expected factory orders to jump by 1% compared to the 0.6% increase originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department's data showed a slight uptick in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended August 31st.
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