Dollar surges

TOKYO: The dollar edged up on Friday, on track for a weekly gain against a basket of currencies, as the passage of a bill to temporarily extend U.S. government funding raised investors´ optimism that a tax reform bill would also pass.

The euro inched down 0.1 percent to $1.1766, around its lowest levels since Nov. 22, as traders waited to see if British Prime Minister Theresa May has finally clinched an elusive deal with Irish and EU officials on how they would run their post-Brexit land border on the island of Ireland.

An agreement would remove the last obstacle for opening free-trade talks with the European Union.

May is likely to meet European Union chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker before dawn (0600 GMT) in Brussels.

The euro was on track to shed 1.1 percent for the week, but is still up nearly 12 percent so far in 2017.Forex traders were also awaiting the closely watched U.S. non-farm payrolls report later in the day, which is expected to show 200,000 new jobs were created in November, according to a Reuters poll.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was up slightly on the day at 93.830 , up 1 percent for the week. But it was still down 8.2 percent for a year plagued by U.S. policy uncertainty.