The pound firmed against its major rivals in European deals on Thursday, as a survey showed that U.K. house prices rose at the fastest rate in five months for March.

The latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors revealed early in the day that U.K. house price balance rose to 21 percent on a monthly basis in March, mainly due to the shortage of available properties.

The figure beat expectations for a score of 15 percent after coming in at 14 percent in February.

U.K. labour market data is due tomorrow, with economists expecting the jobless rate to tick down to 5.6 percent for the three months through February, from 5.7 percent in three months ending November. Claimant count is expected to have dropped to 29,500 in March from 31,000 last month.

Meanwhile, European markets are trading in a negative territory, amid worries about Greece. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services cut its credit ratings on Greece deeper into junk territory, saying it expects the country's debt and other financial commitments to be "unsustainable" without deep economic reform.

The pound exhibited mixed trading in the previous session. While the pound rose against the euro and the yen, it dropped against the greenback and the franc.

The pound hit a 1-week high of 177.81 against the yen and an 8-day high of 1.4939 against the dollar, compared to yesterday's closing values of 176.77 and 1.4837, respectively. The next possible resistance for the pound may be located around 178.00 against the yen and 1.50 against the greenback.

The pound rebounded to 1.4401 against the Swiss franc, from an early 2-day low of 1.4283, and held steady thereafter. The pair was valued at 1.4309 at yesterday's close.

The pound hit a 4-week high of 0.7163 against the euro at 3:45 am ET before stabilising in subsequent deals. This may be compared to an early 2-day low of 0.7230. At Wednesday's close, the pair was worth 0.7196.

Looking ahead, U.S. building permits and housing starts - both for March, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended April 11 and Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's manufacturing index for April are slated for release in the New York session.

At 1:00 am ET, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart will deliver a speech about the US economic outlook and monetary policy at the Palm Beach County Convention Center.

After 10 minutes, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester will speak on the economy before the Forecasters Club of New York.

Subsequently, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren participates in "The U.S. Economic Outlook and Implications for Monetary Policy" event hosted by Chatham House in London at 1:30 pm ET.

At 3:00 pm ET, Federal Reserve Governor Stanley Fischer will participate in a panel discussion titled "The Elusive Pursuit of Inflation" at the International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings in Washington DC at 3:00 pm ET.

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