Euro gains on dollar ahead of ECB data

The dollar fell against the euro Thursday amid strong financial indicators on both sides of the Atlantic.

At 22H00 GMT, the euro bought $1.3376, up from the $1.3315 it garnered Wednesday at the same time.

In Europe, a purchasing managers index, an indicator of manufacturing and services activity, in January reached its highest level in 10 months.

"It is too soon to call this the turn in the European economy, but some are bound to see it that way," said analyst Chris Low of FTN Financial.

Also Thursday, US jobless claims came in well below expectations, falling for the second week in a row.

The new data revived optimism among traders and piqued interest in riskier assets, such as the euro.

Traders are also awaiting an announcement Friday by the European Central Bank about repayments related to its longer-term refinancing operations. Banks can begin paying back some 1 trillion euros of three-year money they borrowed in 2012.

Analysts expect the ECB details to give a better picture of the liquidity situation in Europe.

The US dollar gained against the Japanese yen, fetching 90.40 Thursday compared with 88.56 the day earlier.

The euro also gained against the yen, buying 120.91, up from 118.00 Wednesday.

The dollar fell to 0.9290 Swiss francs from 0.9292 a day earlier, while the British pound fell to $1.5792 from $1.5840.