• On the data front, a read on private-sector jobs and weekly layoffs came in slightly weaker than expected, but likely not weak enough to change the pace of interest-rate increases. Private-sector employers added a seasonally-adjusted 153,000 jobs during the month, below the 180,000 that a consensus of economists had forecast.
Meanwhile, initial jobless claims in the period running from June 25 to July 1 increased 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 248,000, while the Institute for Supply Management’s nonmanufacturing index rose to 57.4% in June from 56.9% in May.
• The dollar was steady in early Asian trading on Friday, on track for weekly gains but likely to tread water throughout the day as investors braced for monthly U.S. employment data later in the global session after downbeat jobs figures overnight.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was slightly higher on the day at95.836, up 0.2 percent for the week.
The dollar was flat on the day against its Japanese counterpart at 113.23 yen and was up 0.8 percent for the week in which it scaled a peak of 113.69, its highest level since mid-May.
The euro edged down 0.1 percent on the day to $1.1417, and was down 0.1 percent for the week.
• The benchmark U.S. 10-year yield touched a nearly eight-week high of 2.391 percent on Thursday. It last stood at 2.374 percent in Asian trading, above its U.S. close of 2.369 percent.
• "Asian investors don't want to chase the dollar up today, ahead of the nonfarm payrolls, in case the numbers disappoint," said Kaneo Ogino, director at foreign exchange research firm Global-info Co in Tokyo.
• Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will deliver a second day of testimony on the U.S. central bank's semiannual report on monetary policy and the economy on July 13, a Senate committee announced on Thursday.
Yellen will testify at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT), the Senate Banking Committee said in a statement. The House of Representatives Financial Services Committee said last week that it would hear from Yellen on July 12.
• Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair Stanley Fischer on Thursday called on U.S. government policymakers to do more to boost business investment, spur innovation, and train and educate workers to jumpstart a "dismal" record of productivity growth.
• U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to size each other up in person for the first time on Friday in what promises to be the most highly anticipated meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
Trump has said he wants to find ways to work with Putin, a goal made more difficult by sharp differences over Russia's actions in Syria and Ukraine, and allegations Moscow meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
• Senior U.S. and Chinese officials will meet to discuss bilateral economic issues this month after threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to use trade to pressure Beijing to do more to rein in North Korea's weapons programs, a U.S. official with knowledge of the decision said.
The meeting of the U.S.-China Comprehensive Economic Dialogue will take place in Washington on July 19, and will be the first covering economic and trade issues in a new format for U.S.-China dialogue agreed after a summit between Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in April
• Seven U.S. states are still without budgets, nearly a week into the new fiscal year that started July 1.
Legislatures in Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin remain in disagreement about how to close ongoing budget gaps in their states or fund new budget initiatives.
• U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Thursday signed an order to hold more lease sales and to speed up approving permits to explore for oil and gas on federal land, a process he said got bogged down under former President Barack Obama.
The order is the latest move by the administration of President Donald Trump to make it easier to drill and mine on federal land, which Zinke said is a source of income for the government.
• British shops enjoyed their biggest rise in June sales in six years, a survey showed on Friday, helped by warm weather and weak numbers in the same month last year.
Britain's economy has slowed as the rise in inflation since last year's Brexit vote and modest pay growth have hurt consumer spending. Recent surveys have shown a sharp drop in consumer confidence.
• Salaries for British workers starting in permanent jobs rose at the fastest pace since 2015 as businesses found it harder to hire staff, a problem exacerbated by Brexit, a survey of recruitment firms showed on Frid
Growth in starting salaries for permanent jobs hit a 19-month high in June in June, REC said, offering Bank of England policymakers a rare suggestion that wage growth in Britain will accelerate, as they expect.
• Oil futures settled up slightly on Thursday, well off session highs, after a sharp but short-lived boost from a much bigger-than-expected decline in U.S. inventories of crude oil and gasoline.
U.S. crude stocks fell 6.3 million barrels, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said, citing stronger refining activity and reduced imports. That was much more than the draw of about 2.3 million barrels analysts had forecast, and it took total crude inventories to 502.9 million barrels, the lowest since January.
Crude prices gave back gains in the early afternoon. After hitting a high of $46.53 a barrel, U.S. futures settled up 39 cents to $45.52 a barrel. Brent futures hit a high of $49.18 a barrel after the inventory figures were released, but settled up 32 cents to $48.11 a barrel.
Reference: Market Watch, Reuters
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