Yen Gives Up Four-Week High Ahead of U.S. Jobs Data

• The U.S. dollar holds steady against a basket of global currencies

• The Japanese yen is poised to achieve a significant weekly gain

• Tightening remarks from some members of the Bank of Japan

• Near‑certain probabilities of raising Japanese interest rates in September

The Japanese yen fell in the Asian market on Friday against a basket of major and secondary currencies, abandoning its four‑week high against the U.S. dollar, due to corrective trading and profit taking, as well as reluctance to build new buying positions ahead of the release of U.S. monthly jobs data.

Weekly trades over this week, which will officially settle today, have kept the yen up 2.25% against the U.S. dollar, poised to achieve its second weekly gain in the last three weeks, and its largest weekly gain since late July.

Expectations for the yen's performance are discussed here on the "FX News To Day" site: if U.S. jobs data come in below market expectations, the likelihood of the Federal Reserve raising rates in September will decline, leading to further depreciation of the U.S. dollar against a basket of major currencies, led by the yen.

U.S. stock indices rose strongly during Thursday's trading, as investors reduced bets on rate hikes, after Fed Chair Christopher Waller said he would support keeping the target range for the federal funds rate unchanged if data show easing inflationary pressures.

Futures had ended Wednesday's session in decline, after giving up gains recorded mid‑session, closing down between one and 2.75 cents, while some longer‑dated futures ended the session on the upside.