Investing.com - The U.S. dollar slipped lower against a basket of other major currencies on Thursday, as investors eyed the European Central Bank's upcoming policy statement, as well as a highly anticipated report on U.S. employment due on Friday.
USD/JPY hit lows of 108.33, before retracing some of those losses to trade at 108.56, down 0.30% for the day, off the previous sessions six year peaks of 110.07.
Investor sentiment was hit after a slew of disappointing manufacturing reports showed that factory activity in the U.S. slowed more than expected last month, Germany’s manufacturing sector slid into contraction territory for the first time in 14 months, while activity in China stalled.
Concerns over unrest in Hong Kong and a confirmed Ebola diagnosis in the U.S. also contributed to the risk-off mood.
EUR/USD was last up 0.20% to 1.2644, off Tuesday’s two-year trough of 1.2570.
Official data showed that the number of unemployed people in Spain rose by 19,700 last month, compared to expectations for an increase of 31,300, after a 8,100 rise in August.
But the single currency remained under pressure after data earlier in the week showed that the annual rate of euro area inflation fell to a five year low of 0.3% in September.
The weak data added to pressure on the ECB to implement additional stimulus measures to stave off the threat of deflation in the region, ahead of its monthly meeting later Thursday.
GBP/USD edged down 0.07% to 1.6172, even as data showed that U.K. construction sector activity expanded at the fastest rate in eight months in September.
In a report, Markit research group said the U.K. construction purchasing managers' index increased to 64.2 last month from a reading of 64.0 in August. Economists had expected the index to fall to 63.5 in September.
The Swiss franc held steady, near 14-month lows, with USD/CHF at 0.9556.
Elsewhere, AUD/USD gained 0.46% to 0.8773 and NZD/USD jumped 1.03% to trade at 0.7866, while USD/CAD slid 0.39% to 1.1121.
Official data earlier showed that Australian building approvals increased by 3.0% in August, exceeding expectations for a 1.0% rise, while Australia's trade deficit narrowed less than expected to A$0.79 billion in August from A$1.08 billion in July.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.19% to 85.84, off Tuesday’s peaks of 86.34, a high last seen in June 2010.
Investors were looking ahead to Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, which was expected to show that the economy added more than 200,000 jobs for a sixth successive month in August.