Asian session: The dollar was set for its biggest weekly gain in three months versus the yen

05:00 Japan Leading Economic Index January 111.7 112.4 112.2

05:00 Japan Coincident Index January 111.7 114.6 114.8

The dollar was set for its biggest weekly gain in three months versus the yen before the release of U.S. payrolls data, with Federal Reserve officials reiterating the threshold for changing its stimulus tapering is high. The U.S. probably added 149,000 jobs in February, after a 113,000 increase a month earlier, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of economists taken before the Labor Department report today. Payroll gains averaged almost 200,000 a month in 2013.

The U.S. currency yesterday touched its strongest versus the yen since January as reports showed fewer Americans filed claims for jobless benefits. Jobless claims fell by 26,000 to 323,000 in the week ended March 1, the least since the end of November and fewer than the lowest forecast in a Bloomberg poll, data showed yesterday.

The euro headed for a fifth weekly gain as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi damped speculation of further monetary easing. The ECB left its benchmark interest rate at 0.25 percent at a meeting in Frankfurt yesterday as forecast by 40 out of 54 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The other 14 were predicting a rate cut.

Australia’s dollar held near its highest in almost three months as central bank Governor Glenn Stevens said he doesn’t see a need to cut interest rates. He said he doesn’t see the need to loosen already “very accommodative” monetary policy “at this point in time.”

EUR / USD: during the Asian session, the pair traded in the range of $ 1.3855-65

GBP / USD: during the Asian session the pair traded in the range of $ 1.6725-45

USD / JPY: on Asian session the pair fell to Y102.85

With the policy decisions from both the ECB and BOE behind us, the markets now focus their attention across the Atlantic on the US employment report. Ahead of the jobs data, there is a full calendar in Europe, starting with the release of the Swiss National Bank's annual results, due at 0630GMT. Other Swiss data set for an early release includes the February unemployment data at 0645GMT. At 0700GMT, the German January wholesale prices data will be published. French data due at 0745GMT includes the January foreign trade data and the January budget balance. At 0800GMT, Spain's January industrial output numbers will cross the wires. There is further Swiss data set for release at 0815GMT, when the February CPI numbers cross the wires. The last German release of the day comes at 1100GMT, when the January industrial orders data is published. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny will hold a joint press conference, in Dublin at 1200GMT.