Investing.com - The Aussie held slightly weaker on Friday in Asia as investors noted Chinese consumer and producer prices showed higher than expected gains at an annual pace.
AUD/USD traded at 0.7579, down 0.05%, while USD/JPY changed hands at 114.45, up 0.38%.
China reported consumer prices rose 0.1% in November month-on-month as expected and at a 2.3% pace year-on-year, a tick higher than the 2.2% seen. Producer prices jumped 3.3%, well above the 2.2 pace seen year-on-year.
Earlier in Australia, home loans data for October showed a 0.8% dip, compared to a 1.0% fall seen month-on-month.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose 0.11% to 101.22.
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.