The dollar was unable to sustain any direction Thursday as traders continued to be confronted by mixed clues about the condition of the global economy.

After a solid February that saw the dollar hit 9-month highs against the euro and sterling, the buck has leveled off in March amid skepticism about the pace of the US recovery.

Lingering weakness in the jobs market has helped cap the dollar's winter rally, and today's jobless claims data did little to signal the employment situation is getting much better.

While the Labor Department released a report Thursday morning showing a modest decrease in first-time claims for unemployment benefits in the week ended March 6th, the report also showed an increase in continuing claims.

The report showed that initial jobless claims edged down to 462,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 468,000.

The dollar lost a bit of ground versus the euro, slumping about a penny to 1.3670.

The Eurozone economic recovery process is underway though it is likely to be uneven, European Central Bank Governing Council member Yves Mersch said Thursday.

Regarding the Greek debt crisis, Mersch said the conditional support pledged by the European Union together with the measures announced by the Greek government should succeed in restoring market confidence.

The dollar eased versus the sterling, slipping back to 1.5040. Earlier in March, the buck hit a 9-month high near 1.4800.

The dollar slipped to CHF 1.0690 versus the Swiss franc after the Swiss National Bank left its key interest rate unchanged at 0.25% for a fourth time to support the economy, which is emerging from the shadows of the worst recession.

While the central bank noted that signs of the economic recovery are becoming more tangible, there are few signs that the SNB is about to alter its policy stance, said Jonathan Loynes, an economist at Capital Economics.

Meanwhile, the dollar was steady above Y90 versus its Japanese counterpart. The dollar also held its ground versus the loonie, staying near C$1.0250.

The buck has been testing a year and a half low against Canada's currency, but has been finding support near C1.0200.