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TOKYO - The dollar dropped against the yen in Asian trade on Friday after Wall Street shares tumbled on jitters over a US jobs report due out later in the day, dealers said.
The dollar slipped to 89.52 yen in Tokyo morning trade from 89.61 in New York late Thursday.
The euro fell to 1.4516 dollars from 1.4543 and to 129.96 yen from 130.34.
Investors were waiting on the sidelines ahead of September's employment report, which analysts expect to show 150,000-188,000 job losses, after 216,000 in August.
The unemployment rate is expected to rise to 9.9 percent from 9.7.
The payrolls data are the "fear factor" for the market, Barclays Capital analysts wrote in a note to clients.
Worries deepened after a disappointing survey of manufacturing stoked fears that job losses may show little signs of easing, dimming the chances of a sustainable recovery in the world's biggest economy, analysts said.
The Institute of Supply Management said its index of the factory sector, also known as the purchasing managers index, fell to 52.6 percent in September from 52.9 percent in August.
Traders were also eyeing a meeting of finance chiefs from the Group of Seven major industrialised nations, starting on Friday, to discuss the state of the global economy and financial market stability.
But the event in Istanbul is seen as less important this time around because it comes soon after a summit of the Group of 20, which declared itself a week ago the world's top international economic forum.
There is uncertainty about whether the G7 will even publish a final statement after its gathering.
Japan's Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said he would not raise the issue of the yen's recent strength, which is hurting Japanese exporters.
The Japanese currency hit an eight-month high early this week of 88.25 to the dollar, its highest since late January.
The yen may hit 85 to the greenback by the end of the year as Japanese interest rates are relatively high when adjusted for deflation, Morgan Stanley analysts predicted. - AFP/vm
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