Major currencies trade in tight ranges ahead of US jobs data

LONDON (AFP) - Major currencies moved in narrow ranges against each other as the focus turned to a US labor market report due out on Friday.
The euro stood at 1.2283 dollars in late European trading against 1.2309 late on Tuesday in New York.
The dollar traded at 111.27 yen compared with 111.15 on Tuesday.
The dollar stayed well-bid ahead of the jobs figures, which analysts expected to show a 150,000 increase in non-farm US payrolls in September.
"Players are sidelined ahead of the payrolls," said David Mann at Standard Chartered.
He warned that US job creation may fall short of predictions, especially as the September data may have been affected by a series of hurricanes that hit the United States.
Conversely, evidence of strong job creation in September would help solidify US rate hike expectations, boosting the dollar in the process.
But many believed it would take a figure higher than 200,000 to help the US currency.
In any case, the data should go a long way towards increasing US rate hike expectations.
Markets are pricing in just one more quarter-point rate hike in the US this year, although the rate setting Federal Open Market Committee has two more meetings to go before the end of December.
Meanwhile, the pound ended the day much where it started after a see-saw session.
Having started the day in a slump, the currency rallied when house price data came in unexpectedly strong, only to give back most of those gains when official industrial and manufacturing numbers proved very weak.
The office of National Statistics said manufacturing output in August fell 0.8 percent from the previous month, against expectations of a modest 0.3 percent increase.
That was the biggest monthly decline since October 2002, when output slid by 1.3 percent.
Analysts thus expect the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee to keep its key repo rate unchanged at 4.75 percent at a rate-setting meeting that concludes on Thursday.
Earlier, the pound had gotten a boost from stronger-than-expected British house price data.
The monthly house price index from HBOS unit Halifax found prices had risen by 1.4 percent in September from the previous month, for an annual increase of 20.5 percent.
In August, prices had fallen by 0.6 percent from July but had risen by 21.3 percent from the year before.
Traders also tracked oil prices after benchmark crude in New York scaled new heights close to 52 dollars a barrel.
Concerns over the debilitating effects of higher oil prices on economic growth have the potential to weigh on the major currencies such as the dollar, yen, euro and pound.
The euro was changing hands at 1.2283 dollars against 1.2309 late on Tuesday in New York, 136.65 yen (136.85), 0.6899 pounds (0.6908) and 1.5533 Swiss francs (1.5532).
The dollar stood at 111.27 yen (111.15) and 1.2647 Swiss francs (1.2619).
The pound was at 1.78 dollars (1.7818), 198.04 yen (198.05) and 2.2513 Swiss francs (2.2482).
On the London Bullion Market, the price of an ounce of gold stood at 418.45 dollars against 415.40 late on Tuesday.