Investing.com - The Australian dollar eased slightly in Asia on Thursday ahead of jobs data and closely-watched industrial and retail figures from top trading partner China later on.
AUD/USD traded at 0.7632, down 0.05%, while USD/JPY changed hands at 112.69, up 0.13%. NZD/USD fell 0.11% to 0.7016 ahead of the release of the new Labour-led government's federal budget.
Australia reports employment change data for November with a gain of 19,200 jobs expected and a steady unemployment rate of 5.4% and participation rate of 65.1% seen. Later, China reports industrial production for November with a 6.2% rise seen followed by retail sales expected up 10.3% and fixed asset investment up 7.2% all on year.
Japan later reports industrial production for October with a 0.5% increase seen on month.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was last quoted down 0.70% to 93.40.
The Federal Reserve approved its third rate hike of 2017, and forecasts further rate hikes despite growing concerns over the slow pace of inflation.
Fed officials also expressed optimism in the economy, hiking their projection for economic growth in 2017 to 2.5%, while growth in 2018 was expected to rise to 2.5%, a 0.4% increase from the Fed’s September projections. The report raised investor expectations for ongoing bullish economic growth, lifting sentiment on risker assets like equities.
Overnight, the dollar eased from three-week highs after economic data pointing to ongoing inflation weakness eased expectations of the Federal Reserve adopting a more aggressive stance on monetary policy next year.
The Labor Department said on Wednesday its Consumer Price index rose 0.4% last month. In the twelve months through November, core-inflation, however, undershot expectations rising just 1.7%. The somewhat subdued consumer inflation report comes just hours ahead of the Federal Reserve monetary policy decision slated for 2.00 p.m. ET.
Losses in the dollar were limited, however, as news emerged that lawmakers agreed a tentative tax deal, paving the way for a significant overhaul to the US tax system.