The euro extended gains to fresh one-week highs against the dollar on Wednesday after the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged, as expected.
The euro has in recent days clawed back losses made last week on dovish comments by ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet, and 58 of 60 analysts polled by Reuters this week saw no change in current rates of 2.0 percent.
Investors will focus on Trichet's comments at the ECB's 1230 GMT news conference, after he warned on sluggish consumer spending early last week.
"The rate decision was largely anticipated," said Lee Ferridge, head of global currency strategy at Rabobank.
"The press conference is going to be interesting to see if he (Trichet) does take a more dovish line and starts opening the door for a rate move in the future. Our view is they will probably go in June."
The euro was trading at $1.2324 at 1152 GMT, steady from the US close and off post-ECB highs of $1.2356. The euro was down 0.40 percent against the broadly strong yen at 127.88 yen, compared with four-month lows set on Wednesday of 126.60.
The dollar was down 0.50 percent against the yen at 103.82 yen, compared with four-year lows set on Wednesday of 103.38.
The yen staged a stunning rally on Wednesday as investors sensed Japan was scaling back yen-selling intervention going into the new fiscal year.
It remained buoyant on Thursday after the quarterly "tankan" survey showed Japanese businesses more upbeat than at any time in almost seven years.
US initial jobless claims at 1330 GMT are forecast at 340,000, compared with 339,000 the previous week.
The US Institute of Supply Management manufacturing index at 1500 GMT is expected to dip to 60.0 in March from 61.4 in February, still firmly in above-50 expansionary territory.
Federal Reserve governors Ben Bernanke and Donald Kohn and Chicago Fed President Michael Moskow speak later.
US Treasury Secretary John Snow tours institutions in New Mexico and Arizona on Thursday.
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