LONDON (AFP) - The dollar fell against the euro and yen on Friday as market players grew cautious ahead of US jobs data and as ministers began gathering for a Group of 20 finance meeting, traders said.
In London morning trade, the euro rose to 1.4897 dollars from 1.4868 dollars late in New York on Thursday.
Against the Japanese currency, the dollar fell to 90.50 yen from 90.72 yen late on Thursday.
"There is still an appetite for risk-taking in the market but it's difficult for players to take aggressive positions before the jobs data and the G20," said Yuji Saito, head of foreign exchange at Societe Generale in Tokyo.
The euro is seen as a riskier bet compared with the dollar.
US non-farm payrolls data due out Friday are expected to show the unemployment rate rose to 9.9 percent in October, from a 26-year high of 9.8 percent in September.
"Investors are wary of pushing riskier currencies too far ahead of (the) key US payrolls report with the unemployment rate expected to rise to almost 10 percent," said NAB Capital analyst John Kyriakopoulos.
Finance chiefs from 20 rich and emerging economies were meanwhile holding their third get-together of 2009 over two days in Scotland from Friday.
With countries such as the US, Japan, Germany and France emerging from recession after last year's global financial crisis, the G20's focus has switched to how to secure a sustainable economic recovery.
It is unlikely that currencies will figure high on the agenda but the gathering is still "a risk factor" for the market, said Saito.
Most of the week's attention has been on international monetary policy, with interest rate decisions from the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England.
The BoE on Thursday decided to inject billions of extra pounds into the British economy and held interest rates at a record low 0.5 percent as it looks to help Britain out of its longest recession on record.
The European Central Bank (ECB) also left leave its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 1.0 percent.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve decided to keep rock-bottom US interest rates for "an extended period" and kept trillion-dollar stimulus measures in place to support a fragile recovery from recession.
In London on Friday, the euro was changing hands at 1.4897 dollars against 1.4868 dollars late on Thursday, at 134.83 yen (134.88), 0.8968 pounds (0.8965) and 1.5122 Swiss francs (1.5112).
The dollar stood at 90.50 yen (90.72) and 1.0150 Swiss francs (1.0162).
The pound was at 1.6612 dollars (1.6577).
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold grew to 1,094.60 dollars an ounce from 1,089 dollars an ounce late on Thursday.
31.80 (0.27%)
