Forex - Yen steady ahead of data sets on wages, housing, Aussie flat

Investing.com - Most major currencies held flat against the dollar in early Asia on Tuesday with data sets on private credit from Australia and wages and housing from Japan to set the tone.

USD/JPY changed hands at 120.07, down 0.03%, while AUD/USD traded at 0.7654, flat. EUR/USD traded at 1.0832, down 0.01%.

In Japan, February preliminary wages data are due at 1030 Tokyo time (0130 GMT) with a gain of 0.7% expected year-on-year and followed by housing starts at 1400 (0500 GMT), which are expected to post a 12th straight fall.

At 1130 in Sydney (0030 GMT) comes February private sector credit from the central bank with a gain of 0.5% expected.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was quoted at 98.22 in early Asia on Tuesday, down 0.09%.

Overnight, the dollar remained broadly higher against a basket of other major currencies on Monday, after the release of positive U.S. economic reports and as comments by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Friday continued to support.

In a report, the U.S. National Association of Realtors said pending home sales rose 3.1% last month, easily surpassing expectations for a 0.4% gain. Pending home sales rose by 1.2% in January, whose figure was revised down from a previously reported gain of 1.7%.

The data came after the U.S. Commerce Department said that personal spending inched up 0.1% last month, below expectations for a gain of 0.2%. Personal spending dropped 0.2% in January.

The report also showed personal income rose 0.4% in February, above forecasts for a 0.3% increase and after gaining 0.4% in January.

On Friday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said in a speech on Friday that a rate hike may be warranted later this year, but added that weakening inflation pressures could force the Fed to delay.

The euro shrugged off official data showing that German consumer price inflation accelerated at an annualized rate of 0.3% this month, meeting forecasts and compared to a reading of 0.1% in February.

Another report showed that consumer prices in Spain fell 0.7% this month, compared to expectations for a decline of 1.0%, after a 1.1% decline in February.

Meanwhile, Greece remained in focus after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ government put forward new reform plans for approval late Friday, as part of a bailout extension review.

Officials from the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank were to examine the measures after earlier proposals were not accepted.