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.

The European Central Bank has kept interest rate unchanged at a record low of 1 percent, believing that the ultra-loose monetary policy is vital for economic recovery. Bank President Mario Draghi said inflation remained a risk to the economic growth.

The gain of the dollar was also attributed to the upbeat U.S. job data.

The Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) reported that 209,000 jobs were added to private sectors in March, suggesting the U.S. job market is improving. The ADP report also provided some guidance for the upcoming monthly employment report due out on Friday.

The U.S. Labor Department said initial jobless claims decreased slightly to 357,000 last week, falling to the lowest level in four years. The upbeat job data helped raise investors' confidence in the U.S. economy.

The most anticipated non-farm payroll reports showed the U.S. economy added 120,000 jobs in March, and the unemployment rate dropped to a three-year low of 8.2 percent.

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