Investing.com - The dollar slipped lower against the other major currencies on Friday, as markets were jittery ahead of the release of highly-anticipated U.S. employment data due later in the day.
USD/JPY slipped 0.21% to trade at 112.33.
Sentiment on the dollar remained fragile as investors awaited the release of U.S. nonfarm payrolls and unemployment data later Friday, for further indications on the strength of the job market.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending March 26 increased by 11,000 to 276,000 from the previous week’s total of 265,000. Analysts expected jobless claims to hold steady at 265,000 last week.
But the safe-haven yen’s gains were limited after data earlier showed that manufacturing activity in China swung into expansion territory for the first time since August this month.
China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 50.2 in March from 49.0 the previous month. Analysts had expected the index to tick up to 49.3 this month.
The Caixin manufacturing PMI rose to 49.7 in March from 48.0 in February, beating expectations for an increase to 48.2.
EUR/USD rose 0.20% to 1.1403.
Markit research group reported on Friday that its euro zone manufacturing PMI rose to 51.6 in March from 51.4 the previous month, exceeding expectations for an unchanged reading.
In Germany, the manufacturing PMI rose to 50.7 this month from 50.4 in February, while the French manufacturing PMI remained unchanged at 49.6.
The dollar was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.25% at 1.4326 and was lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF shedding 0.21% to 0.9599.
Sterling weakened after Markit said its U.K. manufacturing PMI rose to 51.0 in March from 50.8 the previous month, disappointing expectations for an increase to 51.2.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar was higher, with AUD/USD up 0.27% at 0.7678, hovering close to Thursday’s eight-month peak of 0.7723. NZD/USD held steady at 0.6909, after hitting a nine-month high of 0.6966 on Thursday.
USD/CAD edged up 0.13% to trade at 1.3022, after falling to a five-month low of 1.2857 on Thursday.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.13% at 94.53, not far from the previous session’s five-month low of 94.30.