The dollar fell against most major counterparts early on Thursday, after the market shrugged off a report showing U.S. jobless claims fell in the latest week. On Wednesday, a private-sector survey suggested a steep drop in employment in December. The goverment employment report for December will be released Friday. The dollar index , a measure of the greenback against a trade-weighted index of six major currencies, stood at 81.514, compared with 82.490 ahead of the data. Initial claims for unemployment benefits declined 24,000 to 467,000 in the week ended Jan. 3. Some analysts noted the numbers at this time of year tend to be volatile because claims slow during the holidays.
