The Japanese yen strengthened against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Friday amid risk aversion, following news that the U.S. has launched cruise missile attacks against Syria in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack by Bashar al-Assad's regime that killed scores of civilians earlier in the week.

Investors also remained cautious as they focused on the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping as well as the monthly U.S. jobs report due later in the day. .

In other economic news, data from the Cabinet Office showed that Japan's leading index dropped to a 3-month low in February. The leading index fell more-than-expected to 104.4 in February from 104.9 in January. This was the lowest score in three months. The expected score was 104.6. The indicator measures the future course of economic activity.

Meanwhile, the coincident index that reflects the current economic activity, came in at 115.5 in February, in line with expectations, up from 115.1 a month ago. In the Asian trading, the yen rose to a 10-day high of 110.13 against the U.S. dollar and a 3-day high of 137.29 against the pound, from yesterday's closing quotes of 110.79 and 138.16, respectively. If the yen extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 109.00 against the greenback and 136.00 against the pound.

Against the euro and the Swiss franc, the yen advanced to 4-1/2-month highs of 117.31 and 109.67 from yesterday's closing quotes of 117.91 and 110.25, respectively. The yen may test resistance near 116.00 against the euro and 108.00 against the franc.

Against the Australian and the New Zealand dollars, the yen rose to a 4-1/2-month high of 82.79 and nearly a 5-month high of 76.66 from yesterday's closing quotes of 82.79 and 76.66, respectively. The yen is likely to find resistance around 83.60 against the aussie and 77.21 against the kiwi.

The yen edged up to 82.09 against the Canadian dollar, from yesterday's closing value of 82.60. On the upside, 80.00 is seen as the next resistance level for the yen.

Looking ahead, at 4:00 am ET, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney is expected to speak at Thomson, in London.

U.K. construction output, industrial production and trade balance, all for February, are due to be released at 4:30 am ET.

In the New York session, U.S. and Canada jobs data for March, Canada Ivey PMI for March, U.S. wholesale inventories data for March and consumer credit for February are slated for release.

At 10:00 am ET, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz and Bank of Canada Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Wilkins will hold a press conference on Monetary Policy Report, in Ottawa.

At 11:15 am ET, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley is expected to speak on "The State of Financial Regulation and the Potential for Reform" before a luncheon organized by the Griswold Center for Economic Policy Studies, Princeton University - 1, in New York.

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