Investing.com - The Aussie fell in Asia on Friday as investors looked ahead to China CPI with home loans data coming in a tad better than expected.
AUD/USD traded at 0.7574, down 0.12%, while USD/JPY changed hands at 114.19, up 0.15%.
In Australia, home loans data for October showed a 0.8% dip, compared to a 1.0% fall seen month-on-month. In China, consumer prices are expected up 0.1% in November month-on-month and at a 2.2% pace year-on-year. Producer prices are seen up 2.2%.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was last quoted at 101.11.
Overnight, the dollar extended gains against the other majors currencies on Thursday, after the European Central Bank’s latest policy decision and positive a U.S. jobless claims report.
The euro weakened broadly after the ECB said at its monthly policy meeting that it would extend its asset purchase program for an additional nine months.
Beyond the program’s scheduled end in March 2017, the central bank said net asset purchases are intended to continue at a monthly pace of €60 billion until the end of December 2017, or beyond, if necessary.
In addition, the ECB left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record-low of zero, in line with forecasts. In the U.S., the Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell by 10,000 to 258,000 in the week ending December 2, in line with expectations.