Investing.com - The dollar slipped lower against the yen and held steady against the euro on Friday, as upbeat Chinese manufacturing data lifted sentiment and as investors eyed the release of highly-anticipated U.S. employment data later in the day.
EUR/USD was little changed at 1.1282, near Thursday’s five-month high of 1.1411.
Market sentiment improved after data 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.
USD/JPY slipped 0.29% to trade at 112.23.
Earlier Friday, data showed that Japan’s Tankan manufacturing PMI slipped to 6 in the first quarter from a reading of 12 in the three months to December, compared to expectations for a decline to 8.
The Tankan non-manufacturing PMI slipped to 17 in the last quarter from 18 in the fourth quarter of 2015, disappointing expectations for a rise to 21.
But 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.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 94.60, not far from the previous session’s five-month low of 94.30.