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Unemployment claims reach a 5-week high

Private payrolls across the U.S. rose by 156,000 last month, said payroll processor Automatic Data Processing Inc. and forecasting firm Moody’s Analytics. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected an increase of 194,000. The increase is the smallest since April 2013.

Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits have increased to a five-week high, a sign that progress in the strongest part of the economy may be moderating.

Jobless claims rose by 17,000 to 274,000 for the week ended April 30, a Labor Department report showed Thursday. The jump was the largest since January 2015.

Fed's Williams: 2 or 3 rate hikes reasonable this year, but dependent on data

Two or three Federal Reserve interest rate increases this year would be "reasonable," but the central bank will continue to watch economic data, San Francisco Fed President John Williams said Thursday.

"We should stay on our basic strategy of gradually reducing accommodation," he told CNBC from the sidelines of a conference on monetary policy at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.

Williams touted progress in the labor market and said concerns about a global slowdown have dissipated somewhat.

Williams does not vote on the Fed's policymaking committee this year.

Fed's Bullard undecided on the right path for interest rates

Global headwinds that have partly prevented the U.S. central bank from raising rates again may have dissipated, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said on Thursday.

"Those factors appear to be waning during the first half of 2016," Bullard said in prepared remarks at an event in Santa Barbara, California.

As the Federal Reserve mulls its next interest rate hike, Bullard, a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, said he is undecided on the path forward for U.S. interest rates.

Bullard had traditionally been considered a hawkish member of the Federal Reserve, arguing for rate hikes for much of 2015. But since then, Bullard has wavered on his views on the economy.

Dollar holds gains ahead of U.S. jobs report

The dollar held gains against the yen and euro early on Friday ahead of the April U.S. non-farm payrolls due later in the day that could support the greenback.

The dollar stood steady at 107.24 yen, having gained for three straight days to pull away from an 18-month low of 105.55 plumbed on Tuesday.

The yen, which jumped after the Bank of Japan opted to stand pat on monetary policy last week, had some of its gains trimmed after Japanese officials said they could act if needed to halt its rise. Investors, however, remain sceptical whether an intervention by Japan would have any lasting effect.

The euro, which had risen to an eight-month peak of $1.1616 on Tuesday, was effectively unchanged at $1.1404 after losing 0.8 percent overnight. Traders attributed the common currency's fall to covering of dollar short positions ahead of Friday's U.S. jobs data.

NYMEX crude up in Asia on Canada fires, U.S. rig count data ahead

Crude oil prices gained in Asia on Friday with a focus on disruption in Canada from a massive wildfire in oil-producing regions of Alberta and ahead of the latest rig count data in the U.S.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude for June delivery rose 0.23% to $44.42 a barrel.

Reference: AP, CNBC, Reuters, Investing