Investing.com - The pound was quoted weaker in early Asia on Tuesday as opinion polls showed a tightened battle ahead of the June 8 election.
GBP/USD fell 0.13% to 1.2824, while USD/JPY changed hands at 111.23, down 0.03% ahead of a busy data day. AUD/USD traded at 0.7439.
Markets in China and Hong Kong are shut for a holiday. Ahead, Japan reports household spending figures for April with a 1.1% gain seen month-on-month and a 0.7% decline seen year-on-year. As well, jobs data is due with the unemployment rate seen steady at 2.8% and retail sales are expected to show a 2.3% gain year-on-year.
In Australia, building approvals are seen up 3.0% month-on-month for April.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was last quoted at 97.33.
Overnight, the dollar was little changed against a basket of the other major currencies on Monday, holding above last week’s six-and-a-half month lows with U.S. financial markets closed for the Memorial Day holiday.
Traders had a subdued start to the week with markets in the U.S, the UK and China closed for holidays.
Investors were looking ahead to Friday’s U.S. employment report, which was expected to show that conditions in the labor market remain solid.
A strong U.S. jobs report would cement expectations for a rate hike by the Federal Reserve at its next meeting in June.
Data on Friday showed that the U.S. economy slowed less than initially thought in the first three months of the year. Gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 1.2% in the three months to March, the Commerce Department said, up from an initial estimate of 0.7%.
It was still the weakest expansion since the first quarter of 2016, but economists think growth is likely to rebound sharply in the current quarter.
The traditional safe haven yen showed little reaction after North Korea fired what appeared to be a short-range ballistic missile early on Monday. Investors remained in a cautious mood amid ongoing political concerns surrounding the Trump administration.
President Donald Trump attacked the media and dismissed White House leaks as "fake news" on Sunday, following reports that Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and senior aide, sought to set up secret “back channel” communications with Russia before Trump took office.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Monday that inflation in the euro area remains subdued and still requires substantial stimulus, tempering expectations ahead of the banks upcoming meeting on June 8.
Recent signs of strength in the euro zone economy along with fading political risk have fueled speculation that the ECB could scale back its massive monetary stimulus program.
Sterling weakened after an opinion poll showing that the Labor Party narrowed the gap on the ruling Conservative Party ahead of upcoming elections, adding to political risks surrounding Brexit.
Investors had been confident that British Prime Minister Theresa May would secure a strong win in the election, strengthening her hand in Brexit negotiations and allowing her to ignore lawmakers pushing for a hard Brexit.