Consolidation was the theme of the Asian session as the market awaits the results of the U.S. non-farm payroll data later Friday.
AUD, NZD and EUR all held a better bid tone, partly on the back of JPY cross demand but the currencies were unable to carve out new
ground, and remained under highs seen Thursday. USD/JPY was bid on the same cross demand, with hybrid bond desks behind the
bid in JPY crosses tied to trades based on yield differentials. GBP/USD, while finding support ahead of 1.6100, was offered on the back
of the upheaval in the government and ongoing speculation that PM Brown will resign. EUR/USD traded a range of 1.4165 to 1.4215
from the Tokyo open while USD/JPY traded a range of 96.57 to 96.90. Whispers of a better-than-expected non-farm payroll result of -475K,
which had emerged in the futures market in late NY, kept U.S. Treasury yields underpinned, with a slight rise over Asian trading. Asian
stock markets were mixed on the day with traders cautious ahead of the U.S. jobs data.