* Dollar dips vs yen on caution before U.S. jobs data
* Greenback rebounds modestly vs euro
* Grim jobs figures expected after dismal ADP report
By Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The dollar edged down against the
yen on Friday on caution ahead of U.S. employment data that is
expected to be bleak, though it held firm versus the euro to trim
losses made the previous day.
Concerns about the U.S. jobs market have taken centre-stage
after an ADP survey this week pointed to steep job losses in the
private sector, taking the wind out of the dollar's new year
surge and nudging the greenback lower on Thursday.
Trading in Asia was subdued as the markets tried anticipating
to what extent downbeat U.S. employment figures were priced in.
"The market has been talking about dismal jobs numbers all
this week and may have factored any bad number in," said a senior
trader at a Japanese bank.
"A one-way bet against the dollar is very tough to make at
this time after seeing the dollar rally in the New Year. So I
would keep any dollar selling position versus the yen small," he
said.
The dollar slipped 0.1 percent from late U.S. trade the
previous day to 91.13 yen <JPY=>, after rebounding as high as
91.59 yen earlier on trading platform EBS.
The dollar had fallen as low as 90.83 yen on Thursday after
having hit a one-month high of 94.65 yen earlier in the week.
"It remains to be seen whether bad employment numbers will
actually lead to a broad dollar sell-off. The dismal ADP figures
released earlier in the week are likely to cushion the blow of a
poor reading," said Takahide Nagasaki, chief FX strategist at
Daiwa Securities SMBC.
Following Wednesday's grim U.S. ADP report, which showed
private-sector job cuts of 693,000, economists have revised
downward their forecasts for U.S. nonfarm payrolls in December to
show job losses of 550,000, from an original Reuters poll
estimate of 500,000. The forecasts ranged from a loss of 750,000
jobs to a decline of 400,000 in payrolls. []
Even if the payrolls number falls within expectations,
analysts said other aspects of U.S. employment conditions should
not be overlooked, such as the unemployment rate.
Economists polled by Reuters expect the U.S. unemployment
rate to rise to a 15-year high of 7.0 percent in December from
6.7 percent in November.
The euro fell 0.3 percent to $1.3666 <EUR=>. The euro has
whipsawed between $1.3964 and a three-week low of $1.3312 this
week, according to EBS data.
The European single currency hit the three-week low on
Tuesday, hurt by growing expectations that the European Central
Bank may have to cut interest rates further to counter falling
prices and help a struggling euro zone economy.
The euro has since bounced back but traders say it still
looks shaky as the Bank of England's rate cut on Thursday likely
added pressure on the ECB to follow suit at a policy meeting next
week.
The BoE on Thursday cut interest rates by 50 basis points to
1.5 percent, the lowest since its inception in 1694.
[]
(Additional reporting by Satomi Noguchi; Editing by Chris
Gallagher)
