LONDON, Sept 5 - Dollar was steady against the yen and slightly softer against the euro in early European trade on Friday after a quiet Asian session, with the market awaiting the month U.S. employment report at 1230 GMT. The dollar was holding around 116.80 yen and $1.0955 per euro by 0635 GMT. The Tokyo market appeared reluctant to test the Bank of Japan's resolve, after Thursday's aggressive intervention to weaken the yen. U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow at a conference in Thailand repeated a warning earlier this week against governments getting too involved in the market.
The euro held on to mild gains posted after news on Thursday that first time claims for jobless benefits in the U.S. rose above 400,000 in the week to August 30, adding to jitters ahead of the August jobs report on Friday. Analysts expect the report to show around 12,000 people being added to payrolls in August, compared with a loss of 44,000 in July, with the jobless rate seen steady at 6.2 percent. Dealers will be on the lookout for comments from European Central Bank members Jean-Claude Trichet and Ernst Welteke who both appear at a conference in Italy, while German July industrial output data is due at 1000 GMT.//