TOKYO, Aug 4 Reuters The dollar hung back from a fourweek high against major peers on Friday as investors looked ahead to a key jobs report that could influence the path for U.S. interest rates.

Sterling traded higher after recovering kneejerk losses following the Bank of England39;s decision to downshift to a quarter point rate hike on Thursday.

The yen hovered near the middle of its trading range this week as traders tried to gauge the Bank of Japan39;s tolerance for higher yields following last week39;s surprise policy tweak.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar strengthened amid a flurry of positive news, from the resolution of a barley standoff with China to new stimulus signals from its key trading partner, and just a generally more positive environment for risk assets.

The U.S. dollar index , which gauges the currency against a basket of six counterparts, edged 0.06 lower to 102.39 in Asia. On Thursday, it had pushed to the highest since July 7 at 102.84 at one point, but lost steam later in the day with the monthly nonfarm payrolls report looming on Friday.

The whisper number for payrolls may be higher than the median forecast among economists for a 200,000 increase for July, following reports this week showing low levels of initial jobless claims and much stronger than expected ADP employment data, Kristina Clifton, an analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, wrote in a note.

The implication is the USD may pull back sharply if payrolls print below or even in…