The Japanese yen surged to a nine-week high as investors bet on further interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan (BOJ), while the U.S. dollar held steady ahead of key payroll data. The dollar slid 0.25% to 151.

The yen hit a two-month high in the upper 151 range against the U.S. dollar Thursday in Tokyo, as speculation grows that the Bank of Japan could further raise interest rates sooner than expected. The yen's appreciation came after BOJ policy board member Naoki Tamura said the bank should hike its policy rate to at least 1 percent by the latter half