国际英语新闻:Dollar gains amid European concerns, upbeat U.S. job data

NEW YORK, April 6 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar climbed against major currencies this week as concerns about the European debt crisis again weighed on the euro and upbeat U.S. job data helped restore investors' confidence in the U.S. economy.

The dollar index gained 1.4 percent to 80.076 in the past week. Meanwhile, the euro dropped 1.9 percent against the dollar to 1.308.

The minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting showed that the policymakers acknowledged recent signs of slightly stronger growth but still remained cautious about a broad pick-up in U.S. economic activities.

Meanwhile, the minutes also signaled that the Fed is less willing to launch a third round of quantitative easing policy, given the current economic situation.

The euro was under pressure this week as concerns about the European debt crisis again took center stage.

Spain's government has predicted its debt to gross domestic product ratio will soar to 79.8 percent in 2012, a record high since 1990. The country's labor market also worries investors as the number of jobless people rose by nearly 39,000 in March to over 4.75 million.

Also, the euro zone's unemployment rate climbed to a euro-era high of 10.8 percent in February from 10.7 percent in the previous month.

The region's manufacturing activities have shrunk for eight consecutive months as its Purchasing Manages Index in March dipped to 47.7 from 49.0 in February.