FOREX-Euro steady vs dollar; U.S. jobs data awaited

* Euro/dlr flat; trade subdued before U.S. jobs data

* Yen dips on report saying BOJ to consider easing steps

* Outcome of Merkel meeting with Greek PM also awaited

(Updates prices, adds detail)

By Jessica Mortimer

LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - The euro steadied against the dollar on Friday in subdued trade as the market awaited key U.S. jobs data, while the yen dipped on a report the Bank of Japan could consider further monetary easing steps.

U.S. non-farm payrolls numbers due at 1330 GMT may give clues to the extent of the U.S. recovery, although bad weather could affect the data. The Reuters' consensus estimate is for 50,000 job losses in February.

Analysts say a stronger-than-expected reading would boost the dollar, while a weaker figure may be dismissed as a distortion after a wave of snowstorms that hit the United States, limiting any negative dollar reaction.

"The market is looking for signs of the next wave of cyclical improvement in the U.S. and a good payrolls number could point to that," said Peter Wuyts, market analyst at KBC in Brussels.

"But the weather makes the data difficult to predict and I wouldn't be surprised to see the market still in doubt afterwards, which would mean the current consolidation pattern in euro/dollar continuing into next week."

At 1222 GMT, the euro was flat against the dollar at $1.3585 as jitters ahead of the jobs report kept most traders sidelined, while the dollar index was steady at 80.546.

KBC's Wuyts said the euro's consolidation above a 9-1/2-month low of $1.3432 hit earlier this week suggested the market had priced in most of the bad news on Greece for now, keeping it in a range above that low and below $1.3850.

Greece sold on Thursday a 10-year syndicated bond, which was well received by investors, although it paid a high premium. The sale came a day after the government agreed measures aimed at cutting the country's huge fiscal deficit.

The spread between yields on Greek government bonds and euro zone benchmark German bunds narrowed on Friday following the syndicated bond issue. [ID:nLDE624102]

Traders were watching for the outcome of a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou in Berlin on Friday. Merkel said on Wednesday she would offer no financial aid to Greece. The two leaders were scheduled to hold a news conference at 1730 GMT.

Greece's biggest public and private sector unions called for a strike on March 11. The two unions represent about 2.5 million workers, half of Greece's workforce.

YEN DIPS

The yen fell after sources said the BOJ was likely to debate this month easing its ultra-loose monetary policy again as it remained under government pressure to help pull Japan out of deflation.

"The BOJ comments should weigh on the yen and we're looking for dollar/yen to target 90.30 yen in the next couple of days," said Carl Hammer, currency strategist at SEB in Stockholm.

The euro rose 0.3 percent to 121.36 yen while the dollar was up 0.3 percent at 89.31 yen, recovering from a 3-month low of 88.14 yen hit on trading platform EBS on Thursday.

Technical analysts said the bounce from that 88.14 low represented a key-day reversal pattern, which had taken some of the downside pressure off the pair.

Comments from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that China would stick to an appropriately easy monetary stance and a proactive fiscal policy also encouraged investors to buy higher-yielding currencies against the low-yielding yen.

(Additional reporting by Neal Armstrong; Editing by Nigel Stephenson)