UK Manufacturing PMI beats estimates with 54.9 in Feb. Services PMI in the UK jumps to 49.7 in Feb, a big beat. GBP/USD sees fresh demand and renews multi-month tops above 1.40. EUR/USD clinches fresh tops in the 1.2140 region. Flash German, EMU Manufacturing PMI surprised to the upside. Flash PMIs, housing data, Fed speak next on tap in the NA session. The Dollar Index was down 0.1% at 90.483, after a 0.4% decline overnight cut short a two-day winning streak. USD/JPY was down 0.1% at 105.62, while the risk-sensitive AUD/USD rose 0.4% to 0.7793. The dollar had posted gains over the last couple of days as U.S. Treasury yields had risen with the release of strong retail sales data, but the unexpected rise in the number of jobless claims came as a reminder of how much slack the pandemic has left in the labour market. A total of 861,000 claims were filed during the previous week, hitting a four-week high, compared with the 765,000 claims expected and the 848,000 claims filed during the previous week. The Federal Reserve had already warned, in the minutes from its January policy meeting, that the labour market would take time to return to trend and thus its easy monetary policy would stay in place for a considerable period. And Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen made it clear that $1.9 trillion in pandemic-relief spending is still needed, defending the need for President Joe Biden’s plan despite the recent strength in retail sales.