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- The dollar gained in Asia on Thursday, on the eve of a U.S. jobs report that some investors hope will boost expectations that the Federal Reserve remains on track to hike U.S. interest rates this year.

"The dollar is rising ahead of U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, though gains are likely to be capped until investors can see if the numbers confirm their expectations," said Ayako Sera, senior market economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.

The ADP National Employment Report showed U.S. private sector jobs rose a surprisingly strong 214,000 in February, adding to speculation Friday's payrolls report would also be upbeat.

But some investors remained wary of buying the euro after another top European Central Bank (ECB) policymaker hinted at possible action next week, when the ECB holds its policy review.

- U.S. economic activity continued to expand in most districts from early January to late February but conditions varied considerably across regions and within sectors, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday.

The decidedly mixed picture illustrates the headache Fed policymakers face when they next meet to decide the path of interest rates on March 15-16.

- San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams said on Wednesday there has been no substantial change in his outlook on the U.S. economy or his opinion on the number of times the Fed should raise interest rates this year and next.

"I am not going to opine whether we should have one fewer (rate hike) or the same as before," Williams said when asked about his view on the appropriate number of rate hikes this year.

"It is really just the tactics, how many rate increases this year versus next year. It's not a fundamentally different view of the economy," he told reporters after a speech in San Ramon, California. "I am not saying it would be exactly the same thing but the difference would be pretty modest."

- Moody’s reduced the outlook on 38 state-owned enterprises including China Mobile Ltd. to negative, it said in a Thursday statement, a day after cutting 25 non-insurance financial firms’ outlook to negative from stable. The financial institutions include Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and Bank of China Ltd., Moody’s said.

Moody’s said, The change in the Chinese sovereign rating outlook to negative indicates that the central government and regional local governments’ (RLGs) capability to support their SOEs on a broad basis could be weaker than we had previously assessed.

- China's services industry—the biggest contributor to gross domestic product—remained in expansion mode last month but the pace of growth slowed, according to a private poll released on Wednesday.

The Caixin Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropped to 51.2 in February after hitting a six-month high of 52.4 in January.

- BOJ's Deputy Governor Nakaso: Will find ways for additional easing if needed. Vital to maintain trust in Japan's finances. And can't say how long negative rates can go, BOJ designed negative rates so they can go lower.

Moreover, he believed that the negative rates won't weaken function among banks.

- Venezuela's Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino said more than 15 countries will attend an upcoming oil meeting to discuss an output freeze plan and possible further actions, state oil company PDVSA said in a statement on Wednesday.

- Oil prices edged higher on Thursday as sentiment spread that a 20-month-long market rout is coming to an end as production slows amid strong demand.

WTI has risen more than a third since Feb. 11, when prices dropped to levels not seen since 2003 at just over $26 a barrel.

Brent futures were up 7 cents at $37.00 a barrel, and up nearly a quarter since Feb. 11.

Traders said the view was spreading that a market rout that has pulled down prices by 70 percent since mid-2014 is over.

Reference: Reuters, Bloomberg, DailyFX