The dollar skidded Thursday after a surprise sell-off in Asia as the trading day began.

There was no recovery as the day progressed and investors cashed in on earlier gains by selling dollars and waiting for a report today on the U.S. unemployment rate.

In late New York trading, the dollar fetched 97.34 Japanese yen, down sharply from 99.01 yen late Wednesday. The dollar also fell to 1.4677 German marks in New York from 1.4766 marks.

The dollar rose to a six-month high against the yen on Wednesday, as Japanese officials ordered the close of that country’s largest credit union and the reorganization of a major regional bank.

Exchange Currency in Dollars Dollar in foreign currency Canada .7439 1.3443 France .1982 5.0450 Germany .6811 1.4682 Great Britain 1.5495 .6454 Italy .000617 1620.50 Japan .010239 97.67 Mexico .159236 6.2800