Yen and Dollar Drift Amid Iran Deal Uncertainty and Payroll Data

Currency markets were relatively calm on Thursday as investors waited for more information about a proposed U.S.-Iran deal and looked ahead to Friday's U.S. jobs report.

The Japanese yen was slightly weaker at 157.88 per dollar, after giving back some of the gains it made following Japan's recent intervention efforts to prop up its currency.

Jonas Goltermann, chief markets economist at Capital Economics, said that stretched positioning and the involvement of the U.S. suggest this round of intervention may be more effective in propping up the yen than previous ones.

The euro was steady at $1.1544, while sterling traded down 0.1% at $1.3454. The New Zealand dollar and the Australian dollar were both 0.2% weaker.

Brent crude futures remained steady at around $79.50 a barrel, near levels seen when the U.S. and Iran signed an interim peace agreement in June.