* Euro jumps versus Swiss franc, gains vs dollar
* Traders cite talk of SNB activity
* Dollar hits 7-month high versus yen ahead of jobs data
* Economists expect Friday's data to show 190,000 job gain
(Updates prices, adds comment, changes byline)
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK, April 1 (Reuters) - The euro rose against the
dollar and the Swiss franc on Thursday, while the greenback hit
a seven-month high versus the yen a day before a key U.S.
government jobs report.
The euro gained the most versus the franc in nine months at
current prices amid talk of intervention by the Swiss National
Bank. The SNB declined to comment on the franc's price action.
"There was suspected intervention by the Swiss National
Bank. The sharpest movement in the euro was against the Swiss
franc, but it looks like it also helped the single currency
across the board," said Vassili Serebriakov, currency
strategist at Wells Fargo in New York.
In afternoon trading, the euro rose 0.4 percent against the
dollar to $1.3566 <EUR=>.
The dollar rose as high as 94.04 yen <JPY=>, according to
Reuters data, its best level since late August 2009. It was
last at 93.83 yen, up 0.4 percent on the day.
Investors looked ahead to the Labor Department's payrolls
report for March, due on Friday. Analysts polled by Reuters
forecast the economy added 190,000 jobs last month. Such an
outcome would lift the dollar and boost expectations for higher
U.S. interest rates.
Strong manufacturing data from the U.S., Europe and Asia on
Thursday boosted risk appetite and added to the view that
recovery is taking hold in economies around the world.
"We had a slew of nice upside surprises from manufacturing
data in China, Europe, the UK ... so that's a good start to the
month and if we get a good payrolls number (Friday), that's a
dollar-positive," said Matthew Strauss, senior currency
strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto.
Analysts said an increase in investors appetite for risk
also kept the yen under pressure as Japanese investors sold the
yen to move funds into higher-yielding currencies to mark the
start of the new fiscal year.
SWISS FRANC FALLS
The euro fell to record lows against the Swiss franc below
1.4150 francs <EURCHF=>, but then surged to session highs at
1.4410, according to Reuters data.
It last traded up 0.6 percent at 1.4318 francs, the biggest
one-day move since June, 2009.
Traders also cited activity by the Swiss central bank in
the U.S. dollar against the franc.
The dollar last rose 0.2 percent against the Swiss franc to
1.0555 francs <CHF=>.
"There is little doubt that the SNB intervened today, even
if confirmation is not forthcoming," said March Chandler,
global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman.
"Market conditions were thin and the short-term speculative
market was leaning the wrong way," he added.
(Additional reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Nick
Olivari; Editing by Kenneth Barry)
