LONDON, Nov 23 Reuters The euro rose on Thursday for the first time this week, after data suggested the downturn in the euro zone economy may be starting to ease, although holidays in the United States and Japan kept trading activity muted.

With markets shut in Japan and the United States for Thanksgiving holidays, currencies traded with some volatility, as liquidity was thinner than usual.

A flurry of preliminary surveys showed recession in economic powerhouse Germany may be shallower than expected, which offset a downbeat read of French business activity.

The euro rose broadly, gaining the most against the Swedish crown , after the Swedish central bank left rates unchanged, while also gaining on the yen and the Swiss franc.

There39;s been a bit of an upside surprise on Germany and the euro zone and yes, it39;s an improvement on the prior, but all this is saying is things are getting slightly less bad, TraderX strategist Michael Brown said, of Thursday39;s flash Composite Purchasing Managers39; Index PMI for November.

The survey showed the euro zone economy is on track to contract again in the fourth quarter.

The PMI covering the bloc39;s dominant services industry rose to 48.2 this month from 47.8, slightly above the Reuters poll estimate for 48.1, but firmly in contraction territory.

Manufacturing activity, which has contracted every month since July 2022, fell again in November. Its PMI rose to 43.8 from 43.1, beating the poll expectation for 43.4 but was…