Investing.com - The yen and Aussie were nearly flat in Asia on Friday in a light data day ahead.
USD/JPY changed hands at 109.94, down 0.02%, while AUD/USD traded at 0.7229, up 0.01%.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.11% to 95.30.
Overnight, the dollar trimmed gains against the other major currencies on Thursday, after the release of disappointing U.S. data, but the greenback remained at seven-week highs as fresh expectations for a June rate hike by the Federal Reserve continued to support.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending May 14 decreased by 16,000 to 278,000 from the previous week’s total of 294,000. Analysts expected jobless claims to fall by 19,000 to 275,000 last week.
Separately, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that its manufacturing index deteriorated to -1.8 this month from April’s reading of -1.6. Analysts had expected the index to improve to 3.5 in May.
But the dollar remained supported after the Fed’s April meeting minutes showed that officials said a June rate hike would be appropriate if economic data indicated that growth was picking up in the second quarter and employment and inflation were firming.