By Michael Kitchen, MarketWatch
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. dollar was little changed against its European rivals and was only slightly lower against the yen in Asian trade Friday, as markets awaited key U.S. employment data later in the day.
The pound bought $1.6779 in the Asian afternoon, unchanged from its level in late North American trade Thursday.
The British currency had fallen to $1.6779 from $1.6968 after the Bank of England boosted its quantitative easing program by a surprisingly large 50 billion pounds ($84 billion) in its policy decision Thursday.
The euro was negligibly higher at $1.4345, from $1.4342 in late North American trade, while the Japanese yen rose, with the greenback at 95.42 yen, down from 95.59 late Thursday.
The pound, euro and yen had seen losses Thursday, sending the Dollar Index (DXY 77.98, -0.09, -0.12%) climbing to 78.020 from 77.515 the previous day. See full story.
Caution marked trading ahead of the U.S. Labor Department's release of nonfarm payroll numbers, seen as a key barometer of the economy. The data are expected to show the unemployment rate rising to a 26-year high of 9.7%, according to a MarketWatch survey of economists. See preview of U.S. jobless figures.
