Investing.com - The Aussie gained on Friday in Asia after upbeat retail sales figures and a weaker dollar offered solid support.
AUD/USD traded at 0.7428, up 0.16%, while USD/JPY fell 0.26% to 113.81.
Australia reported retail sales rose 0.5% month-on-month in October, beating a 0.3% gain expected.
Ahead, U.S. jobs data is in focus with Nonfarm payrolls seen up by 175,000 in November, deemed enough by most analysts to assure the Fed that the labor market continues to tighten, adding pressure on wages.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was last quoted down 0.60% to 101.02.
Overnight, the dollar trimmed losses against the other majors currencies on Thursday, after the release of upbeat U.S. manufacturing activity data offset more disappointing U.S. jobless claims report.
The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing activity index rose to 53.2 last month from October’s reading of 51.9. Analysts had forecast a smaller increase to 52.2.
The report came after the U.S. Department of Labor said that initial jobless claims in the week ending November 26 increased by 17,000 to 268,000 from the previous week’s total of 251,000. Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by just 2,000 to 253,000 last week.
The dollar had strengthening broadly on Wednesday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries reached an agreement on an oil output cut aimed at tackling global oversupply and shoring up prices.
Expectations for higher oil prices added to U.S. inflation expectations, which have already been boosted by prospects for increased fiscal spending under the Trump administration.