The dollar hovered near a one-month low against a basket of major currencies on Friday as investors looked to a US jobs report later in the day for signs that the housing and credit market crisis is making companies cautious.
The yen edged up slightly and higher-yielding currencies slipped as some regional stock markets dipped and kept investors wary of holding risky positions, with the Nikkei share average losing 1.2 percent.
Many investors were sitting on the sidelines before the monthly payrolls, looking for signs of weakness that would reinforce expectations for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by as much as a half-point later in the month.
Traders said currency market activity was subdued in Tokyo after a typhoon hit the Japanese capital early in the day and prompted some market players to stay home. The dollar dipped 0.2 percent from late US trade to 115.05 yen but was seen holding above 115.00 yen heading into the jobs report.
Traders said a weekly close in dollar/yen below last week's finish near 115.80 yen would give the US currency a negative technical tone next week. The euro dropped 0.4 percent to 157.23 yen dragging down the single currency 0.2 percent to $1.3666.
The dollar's trade-weighted index against six major currencies edged up to 80.53, having fallen back towards a 15-year low of 79.95 hit a month ago.
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