By Michael Kitchen
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- The dollar inched higher during Asian trading hours Friday, as investors positioned themselves ahead of the closely watched U.S. payrolls report due later in the day. The dollar index DXY +0.03% , which tracks the U.S. unit against six rival currencies, sat at 78.329, up slightly from 78.293 late Thursday in North America. The euro EURUSD +0.0260% slipped to $1.3461 from $1.3467 late Thursday, while the British pound GBPUSD -0.0778% changed hands for $1.5677, down from $1.5693. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar USDJPY +0.0965% bought ¥77.81, up from ¥77.72.
