The U.S dollar strengthened against its major counterparts in the European session on Thursday, after a data showed that the economy created more private sector jobs than forecast in December.

Data from payroll processor ADP showed that U.S. private sector employment surged up by 271,000 jobs in December after climbing by a downwardly revised 157,000 jobs in November.

Economists had expected an increase of about 178,000 jobs compared to the addition of 179,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The much stronger than expected job growth in December reflected the biggest jump in private sector employment since February of 2017.

Meanwhile, separate data showed that first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits increased more than expected in the week ended December 29.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 231,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised level of 221,000.

The Labor Department is scheduled to release its nonfarm payrolls data on Friday, which includes both public and private sector jobs.

Employment is expected to increase by 177,000 jobs in December after rising by 155,000 jobs in November, while the unemployment rate is expected to hold at 3.7 percent.

The currency was trading mixed against its major counterparts in the Asian session. While it fell against the franc and the yen, it rose against the euro and the pound.

The greenback bounced off to 108.00 against the Japanese yen, after having dropped to a 9-1/2-month low of 104.74 at 5:35 pm ET. At yesterday's close, the pair was worth 108.87. Next key resistance for the greenback is seen around the 109.00 level.

After falling to 0.9846 against the franc at 2:05 am ET, the greenback bounced off with the pair trading at 0.9883. The greenback is likely to challenge resistance around the 1.01 level.

The greenback bounced off to 1.1338 against the euro, from a low of 1.1384 seen at 3:30 am ET. This may be compared to more than a 2-week high of 1.1306 seen at 5:45 pm ET. The next possible resistance for the greenback is seen around the 1.11 level.

On the flip side, the greenback dropped to 1.2599 against the pound, from a 21-month high of 1.2401 hit at 5:45 pm ET. On the downside, 1.27 is likely seen as the next support level for the greenback.

Survey data from IHS Markit showed that British construction sector growth was the weakest in three months in December, amid a slower rise in commercial work.

The CIPS Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI, fell to 52.8 from 53.4 in November. The latest reading was in line with economists' expectations.

The greenback was trading at 0.6990 against the aussie and 0.6653 against the kiwi, down from near a 10-year high of 0.6745 and a 2-month high of 0.6587, respectively. The greenback is poised to challenge support around 0.72 against the aussie and 0.68 against the kiwi.

The greenback fell to near a 2-week low of 1.3527 against the loonie, following a rise to 1.3654 at 6:15 pm ET. If the greenback falls further, 1.35 is possibly seen as its next support level.

The U.S. ISM manufacturing index for December and construction spending data for November are scheduled for release shortly.

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