Forex - Yen gains in early Asia with focus on busy U.S. data day ahead

Investing.com - The Japanese yen gained in early Asia on Wednesday in a thin data day in the region and a focus on U.S. data ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

USD/JPY traded at 117.90, down 0.06%, while AUD/USD changed hands at 0.8528, down 0.05%. EUR/USD traded at 1.2473, down 0.01%.

On Wednesday, the U.S. is to release a flurry of data ahead of Thursday’s holiday, including reports on durable goods orders, unemployment claims, personal income and spending, as well as reports on new and pending home sales and revised data on consumer sentiment.

Overnight, the dollar traded largely lower against most major currencies on Tuesday after a disappointing U.S. consumer confidence report offset upbeat economic growth data and sent investors selling the greenback for profits after weeks of rallying.

The U.S. currency has seen hefty demand in recent sessions as markets prepare for U.S. monetary to tighten while Europe and Japan move in the opposite direction.

The Conference Board market research group reported earlier that consumer confidence index fell to 88.7 this month from a 94.1 in October, whose figure was revised down from a previously reported 94.5.

Analysts expected the index to increase to 95.9 in November, and the surprise deterioration sent investors selling the greenback for profits, wiping out recent gains stemming from preparations for U.S. monetary policy to diverge from Europe and Asia.

The Present Situation Index declined from 94.4 to 91.3, while the Expectations Index decreased sharply to 87.0 from 93.8 in October.

Earlier Tuesday, the Commerce Department reported that U.S. gross domestic product grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.9% in the third quarter, topping expectations for a reading of 3.3%.

Preliminary data initially pegged U.S. growth at 3.5% in the third quarter. The U.S. economy expanded by 4.6% in the preceding quarter.

The data showed personal consumption rose 2.2% in the third quarter, beating expectations for a 1.9% gain and up from a preliminary estimate of 1.8%.

Consumer spending typically accounts for nearly 70% of U.S. economic growth.

Tuesday's mixed data sent the greenback falling on profit taking.

The dollar has rallied in recent weeks on expectations for U.S. monetary policy to grow less accommodative while European and Asian central banks move in the opposite direction.

Meanwhile in Europe, data revealed that Germany narrowly avoided a recession in the third quarter, posting economic growth of 0.1%.

The report came a day after data showed that German business sentiment improved this month, snapping six successive months of declines.

The upbeat data indicated that the downturn the euro area’s largest economy may have ended and curbed expectations that the European Central Bank may soon embark on quantitative easing measures, which gave the euro support.

The US dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was flat at 87.96.