• The dollar edged up on Friday and was on track for its strongest week in seven with an almost 1 percent rise, benefiting from a weaker euro as solid U.S. economic data has contrasted with cooling euro zone inflation.
It was up 0.1 percent at 100.46 on Friday, 3 percent down from January's peak.
• Japanese factory output rose at the fastest pace in eight months and the jobless rate hit a two-decade low in February, a sign a rebound in overseas demand continued to brighten prospects for the country's export-reliant economy.
But household spending remained soft and consumer inflation was flat when stripping away the effect of rising energy costs, underscoring the challenges the Bank of Japan faces in generating sustained price rises backed by steady wage growth.
The data may reinforce market expectations that while the BOJ's next policy move could be to withdraw its massive stimulus, the timing would be some time away, analysts said.
Industrial output rose 2.0 percent in February from the previous month, beating market forecasts for a 1.2 percent gain to mark the biggest increase since June last year, as automakers ramped up production of new models, data showed on Friday.
Separate figures showed Japan's jobless rate hit a 22-year low of 2.8 percent in February, down 0.2 percentage point from the previous month.
But household spending fell 3.8 percent in February from a year earlier, a bigger decline than market forecasts for a 1.7 percent drop, suggesting a tightening labor market has yet to drive up wages enough to boost consumption.
• U.S. President Donald Trump will sign executive orders on Friday aimed at identifying abuses that are causing massive U.S. trade deficits and clamping down on non-payment of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on imports, his top trade officials said.
• Oil prices fell on Friday as traders took profits following three days of straight gains on the expectation that an OPEC-led crude supply cut that was initially supposed to only last for the first half of the year would be extended.
Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil, were at $52.69 per barrel at 0655 GMT, down 27 cents, or 0.51 percent, from their last close.
In the United States, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 11 cents, 0.22 percent, at $50.24 a barrel.
Reference: Reuters
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