The dollar languished near its lowest levels in over two months against a basket of major currencies on Thursday, under renewed pressure from disappointing US data, while a further spike in German bond yields supported the euro.

Figures on Wednesday showed US private sector employers in April hired the fewest workers in more than a year, raising a red flag for non-farm payrolls due on Friday.

The dollar index slid as far as 93.882 - a low last seen in mid-February - and last stood at 94.207. It has fallen more than 6 percent from a 12-year peak of 100.39 set in March.

Dollar bulls are looking for evidence that the US economy has bounced back following a very soft patch in the first quarter.

"The market is starting to question whether the Federal Reserve can raise rates under current low economic growth. If the upcoming payroll data is weak, we could see clearer weakness in the dollar," said Minori Uchida, chief FX strategist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in Tokyo.

The euro jumped to a two-month high of $1.1371, continuing to pull away from a 12-year trough of $1.0457 plumbed in March. It last traded at $1.1344.

"EUR/USD is now in overbought territory but with positioning still net short and a big US payrolls number looming there aren't too many sellers around," said Elsa Lignos, senior currency strategist at RBC.

Traders said the euro's resilience was partly due to a surge in Bund yields, which have jumped nearly 50 basis points in just over a week, outstripping a 34 basis point-rise in its US peer.

Analysts said the move in Bund yields appeared to be driven by a shakeout of very crowded positions, but the impact is starting to be felt across financial markets.

Right on cue, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen warned that low long-term US interest rates could spike as the Fed normalises its policy, causing disruption across the financial system.

At a separate event, Atlanta Federal Reserve bank president Dennis Lockhart said market expectations for a September interest rate hike were in "reasonable alignment" with the central bank.

The euro also powered to a three-month high against sterling as Britons vote on Thursday in the most closely fought national election in a generation.

The common currency climbed as far as 74.49 pence , reaching a high last seen in mid-February. It was last at 74.41 pence.

Against the dollar, sterling traded at $1.5240, off its two-month high of $1.5498 hit last month.

The currency pair's overnight implied volatility has shot up to above 30 per cent from around 12 per cent on Wednesday, implying the market is pricing in a daily move of around two percentage points.

Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives and Ed Miliband's opposition Labour Party have been neck and neck in opinion polls for months, indicating neither will win enough seats for an outright majority in the 650-seat parliament.

If neither wins an overall majority, talks will begin on Friday with smaller parties in a race to strike deals.

The Australian dollar was briefly hit by a fall in the local payroll figures but quickly recovered losses as the data was not as weak as the headline figures suggested, given a revision for the previous month and firm hourly earnings.

The Aussie last at $0.7986, up 0.2 per cent on the day and off the day's low of $0.7924.

The yen moved little at 119.56 yen, sitting comfortably in its trading range between 118 and 121 in the past several weeks.

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