The dollar remains stable ahead of employment data while Japanese wage data boosts the yen. However, sterling is nearing its highest level in two weeks as investors focus on interest rates

The dollar remained steady against most major currencies on Friday ahead of U.S. employment figures that could confirm that rates are likely to remain higher for longer, but fell sharply against the yen, which was boosted by Japanese wage data. The dollar was down 0.7% against the yen to 143.04, after falling nearly 0.9% this week, marking its biggest weekly fall against the Japanese currency in

Around 11:10am, the yen was gaining 0.72% at 143.03 yen per dollar and 0.80% at 155.62 yen per euro. “The net incomes of Japanese workers rose by 2.5% in May, much more than expected by economists and adding to the pressure on the Bank of Japan (BoJ),” UBS analysts comment

The euro fell by 0.9% against the yen, to 155.5, and by 0.1% against the dollar, to 1.0876 dollars.

The pound remained steady at $1.2746, after reaching a two-week high of $1.2780 on Thursday, as markets bet that the Bank of England will raise interest rates to 6.5% early next year, compared to the previously expected high of 6.25%.

The Australian dollar rose 0.2% to $0.6638, but was still heading for a third consecutive weekly loss, having been beaten by weak Chinese economic data and broad risk aversion in previous sessions, while the offshore yuan rose, leaving the dollar down 0.2% on the day to 7.2434.

The pound moved closer to the two-week high of the previous day against the US dollar on Friday, supported by interest rate differentials as Britain seems poised to outpace the United States and Europe in rate hikes this year. The pound was up 0.1% against the dollar at $1.2748, after reaching its highest level since June 22 on Thursday at $1.2780. Relative to the euro, the pound rose by 0.1%, with the single currency buying 85.35

The Russian ruble strengthened on Friday, limiting some of the losses suffered during Thursday's fall to a more than 15-month low of 93 against the dollar, with the currency under pressure from domestic political concerns and strong currency demand. At 0739 GMT, the ruble was 0.5% stronger against the dollar at 91.86, after falling to 93.85 in the previous session, its weakest point since March 28, 2022. It remained unchanged at 100.04 against the euro and lost 0.6% against the