The Japanese yen strengthened against its most major counterparts in the Asian session on Thursday amid rising risk aversion, as comments by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer triggered uncertainty about U.S.-China trade deal.

Speaking before U.S. Congress, Lighthizer said that U.S. cannot simply accept China's assurance to purchase more US agricultural product and the outcome of ongoing trade talks could not be predicted at this time.

Data showing that China's manufacturing sector shrank in February for the third straight month and rising India-Pakistan tensions also weighed on investor sentiment.

The manufacturing sector in China continued to contract in February, and at a faster rate, the latest survey from the National Bureau of Statistics revealed on Thursday with a manufacturing PMI score of 49.2.

That missed expectations for a score of 49.5, which would have been unchanged from the previous month. It also moves further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The yen rose to 147.18 against the pound, 125.89 against the euro and 110.70 against the greenback, from its early lows of 147.75, 126.23 and 111.00, respectively. If the yen rises further, it may find resistance around 145.00 against the pound, 124.00 against the euro and 109.00 against the greenback.

The yen advanced to a 3-day high of 78.93 against the aussie and a 6-day high of 75.71 against the kiwi, off its previous lows of 79.47 and 76.04, respectively. The yen is poised to challenge resistance around 77.5 against the aussie and 74.00 against the kiwi.

The yen reversed from an early low of 84.40 against the loonie, rising to 84.09. The yen is seen finding resistance around the 82.5 level.

On the flip side, the yen held steady against the Swiss franc, after falling to 111.08 at 12:15 am ET. At yesterday's close, the pair was worth 110.82.

Looking ahead, Swiss KOF leading indicator for February is due in the European session.

At 8:00 am ET, Federal Reserve Governor Richard Clarida will speak at the National Association for Business Economics Policy Conference, in Washington DC.

Canada current account data for the fourth quarter and industrial product price index for January, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended February 23, advanced GDP data for the fourth quarter and Chicago PMI for February are scheduled in the New York session.

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