The Japanese yen strengthened against its key counterparts in the European session on Friday on the back of a slide in equities.
European stocks fell as caution prevailed ahead of the monthly jobs report from the U.S along with French and Greek elections this weekend.
While the U.S. unemployment rate is expected to stay unchanged in April, non-farm payrolls are forecast to increase by 165,000 following a 120,000 addition in March.
The yen touched 2-day highs of 129.59 against the pound and 105.23 against the euro with 129.00 and 104.5 seen as the next upside target levels, respectively.
In economic news from Europe, Eurozone private sector activity declined in April at the fastest rate since October 2011, final data released by Markit showed.
The composite output index dropped to 46.7 in April from 49.1 in March. The headline index also came in well below its earlier flash estimate of 47.4.
Against the franc, the yen hit a 2-day high of 87.61, compared to Thursday's close of 87.82.
Swiss retail sales grew better-than-expected in March and at the strongest pace in nearly a year, data released by the Federal Statistical Office showed today.
Total retail sales grew 4.2 percent year-on-year, after rising 0.8 percent in February. Economists had expected sales to rise 1.1 percent.
The yen rose to a 2-day high of 81.05 against the Canadian dollar, near 3-month highs of 82.14 against the Australian dollar and 63.97 against the NZ dollar with 80.5, 81.5 and 63.00, respectively seen as the next upside target levels.
Canada's Ivey PMI for April is expected at 10:00 am ET.
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Forex News
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.