Investing.com - The dollar edged higher against the euro and the yen on Friday, as markets awaited the release of a highly-anticipated U.S. jobs report later in the day.
EUR/USD slipped 0.19% to trade at 1.1174.
Investors were awaiting Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for September, which could help to provide clarity on the likelihood of a near-term interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
The dollar had come under pressure after after te Institute for Supply Management said on Thursday that its index of purchasing managers fell to 50.2 last month from a reading of 51.1 in August.
The report came shortly after the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending September 26 increased by 10,000 to 277,000 from the previous week’s total of 267,000, compared to expectations for a 3,000 rise.
The single currency found some support after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said in a speech Thursday that growth in the euro zone is picking up thanks to the central bank’s accommodative monetary policy.
The ECB has been buying €60 billion of bonds each month under a program set to run until at least September 2016. However, Mr. Draghi has said the central bank would do more if inflation weakens further.
On Wednesday, data showed that the annual rate of inflation in the single currency bloc fell by 0.1% in September. It was the first time in six months that the region saw declining inflation.
USD/JPY was up 0.11% at 120.05.
Earlier Friday, official data showed that household spending in Japan rose at an annualized rate of 2.9% in August, exceeding expectations for a 0.4% gain, after a 0.2% slip the previous month.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 96.38.