Investing.com - The Australian dollar eased despite a robust services index gain as investors mull a signal that a widely expected Federal reserve rate hike this year may be soon.
AUD/USD traded at 0.7371, down 0.12%, while USD/JPY changed hands at 124.33, down 0.03%. NZD/USD was quoted at 0.6536, down 0.04%.
In Australia, the July AIGroup Services Index jumped to a surprise 54.1 from a June move into expansion at 51.2.
Earlier in New Zealand, the unemployment rate held steady at 5.9%, while the labor cost index rose 1.8% year-on-year for the second quarter, meeting expectations.
In China, the July Caixin General Services PMI is due at 0945 Beijing time (0145 GMT) with the expected reading at 52.2.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose 0.12% at 98.16.
Atlanta U.S. Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhart, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, said the Fed was "close" to being ready to raise short-term rates. Lockhart, a voter this year, is deemed somewhat as a moderate, analysts said, which made his remarks more meaningful.
Overnight, the dollar trimmed losses against the other major currencies on Tuesday, after data showed that U.S. factory orders rose broadly in line with expectations in June, while markets continued to eye the release of U.S. non-farm payrolls on Friday.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported on Tuesday that factory orders increased by 1.8% in June, meeting expectations. Factory orders fell by 1.1% in May, whose figure was revised from a previously reported decline of 1.0%.
The dollar has been boosted recently by expectations that the improving U.S. economy will prompt the Federal Reserve to raise short term interest rates in the coming months, possibly as early as September.
Investors were looking to the government nonfarm payrolls report, due to be released on Friday. The consensus forecast is that the report will show jobs growth of 215,000 last month.
Monthly jobs gains above 200,000 are seen by economists as consistent with strong employment growth.