By Emelia Sithole-Matarise LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - World stocks steadied, U.S. debt yields slipped and the euro hovered near one-month highs against the dollar on Friday before U.S. non-farm payrolls data that could stoke concerns about a slowdown in the U.S. economy. A raft of grim U.S. data this week has already made investors wary about the near-term economic outlook and pushed benchmark 10-year Treasury yields US10YT=RR below 3 percent for the first time since December. Even as investors weigh whether this signals a soft patch or a prolonged slowdown, markets have begun to come around to the view that this should boost government bonds in the near term as inflationary expectations will be contained. Brushing aside Thursday's warning from ratings agency Moody's that the risk of a U.S. debt default was small but rising, 10-year Treasury debt prices rose, with yields 2.4 basis points down at 3.008 percent from late U.S. trade on Thursday. "We've seen some fairly poor economic data recently and this is why we have these lower rates at the moment. Markets are bracing for the worst," said Rabobank strategist Philip Marey. "If there's an upward surprise it could have a strong upward impact on yields ... But I wonder how much lower they can go if it's a downward surprise, because markets are positioned for lower figures (than consensus). They could maybe reach 2.95 (percent) if there's another disappointment in the data." Anticipating a weak jobs reading at 1230 GMT, analysts have already cut their forecasts on non-farm payrolls growth to 150,000 from 180,000 previously, according to a Reuters poll. [ID:nN01187478] DOLLAR WEAKNESS A weak number may weigh further on the dollar but traders said the euro could struggle to make gains much beyond its earlier one-month high of $1.4518, citing offers around that high and more ahead of an options barrier at $1.4550. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar held steady at 74.37 .DXY, having hit a one-month low of 74.209 earlier on Friday with market players incresingly wary of a pull back. "The data is likely to continue to point at a soft patch in the U.S. economy and could lead to a risk-off scenario that would imply dollar weakness against the Swiss franc and yen and strengthening against the Aussie, Canadian dollar and sterling," said Jeremy Stretch, currency analyst at CIBC. "The reality is that the market is expecting jobs growth of around 100-120,000 and a reading of 150,000 could see some temporary easing of the depression surrounding the recovery scenario". A weak reading on payrolls could further dent demand for risky assets as the Federal Reserve prepares to wind up its $600 billion bond purchase programme this month and U.S. policymakers appear reluctant to offer more support to the ailing economy. U.S. stock futures point to a lower open on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJc1, Standard & Poor's 500 SPc1 and Nasdaq composite NDc1 seen down around 0.3 percent. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 fell, largely dragged down by markets -- Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Austria -- that were closed for a public holiday on Thursday and were catching up with losses in the main markets. The index was last 0.2 percent down after falling 1.3 percent in the previous session to its lowest close in six weeks, as the U.S. economic recovery faltered. World stocks as measured by MSCI .MIWD00000PUS were broadly flat. Japan's Nikkei .N225 share index fell 0.5 percent after losing 1.7 percent on Thursday, with political uncertainty continuing to weigh on sentiment, though cheap valuations and options-related short covering may provide some support. Moody's threat of a U.S. ratings downgrade revived safe-haven demand for gold XAU=, with prices bid up at $1,531 per ounce. Brent crude held steady before the U.S. jobs report. (Additional reporting by Marius Zaharia and Jessica Mortimer; Editing by Catherine Evans)

Source