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The dollar headed south on the back of some disappointing unemployment data. Payroll processing firm ADP Employment Services reported that US companies pitched 473,000 workers on to the dole queue in June, versus expectations in some quarters of job losses of 400,000.

The dollar index, which measures the value of the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of currencies, fell below the 80 level to 79.619 in late New York trading.

The European common currency made solid headway against the dollar, adding more than a cent to rise above $1.4150, ahead of Thursday’s statement from European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet on the economic outlook for the eurozone.

The US dollar improved against the Japanese yen, however, despite the Bank of Japan’s quarterly tankan survey showing an upturn in business sentiment in the second quarter. The benchmark index for large manufacturers’ sentiment was minus 48 in June, an improvement from minus 58 in March. The figure is obtained by subtracting the number of interviewees expressing negative sentiment from those who are positive.

Sterling continued its revival against the greenback in London trading, rising to around $1.6535 on Wednesday though it failed to match the heady heights it reached on Tuesday, when it rose to an eight-month high of $1.6745.

The British currency fell back against the euro, however, while sterling’s trade weighted index eased to 83.5.