TOKYO  - The dollar was little changed against most of its Asia-Pacific peers on Friday as foreign exchange dealers looked ahead to closely watched US employment figures released later in the day.
The exceptions were the Malaysian ringgit and the South Korean won, which both shedded more than half a percent against the dollar as most regional equity markets paused after a two-day rally marking the beginning of the month.
With analysts expecting a fresh clue from the US jobs report on whether the Federal Reserve will change its monetary policy this year, the greenback edged up against a handful of other currencies from emerging economies.
“Today’s US payrolls number has once again been labelled a ‘much watch’,” Chris Weston, chief markets strategist at IG Markets, said.
“To be fair, I think traders are getting a bit exhausted of these event risks which are supposed to carry so much weight that they can alter the investment landscape.” Equity markets have seen a spike in volatility since China suddenly devalued its yuan currency in August, triggering the largest quarterly selloff since 2011.
The turmoil in financial markets was a key factor the Fed held off raising near-zero interest rates in September, but investors still expect the hike to come before the end of the year.
The ringgit declined 0.80 percent against the US unit, while the won was down 0.53 percent.
Other Asia-Pacific currencies also lost against the dollar: the Singapore dollar fell 0.26 percent, the Thai baht lost 0.36 percent and the Australian dollar edged 0.02 lower to 70.29 US cents.
The Indian rupee rose 0.11 percent, while the Taiwan dollar and the Indonesian rupiah traded flat.
With the unemployment rate expected near seven-year lows, a strong reading in the unemployment figures will likely add to calls for the US central bank to start raising rates gradually, putting further pressure on emerging economies as investors take out their cash to seek better returns in the US.
The US unit rose to 119.94 yen from 119.93 yen Thursday in New York, while the euro traded at $1.1174 and 134.02 yen from $1.1187 and 134.16 yen in US trade.