Investing.com - The Australian dollar held gains in Asia on Thursday as jobs data lent a hand and despite weaker than expected retails ales and industrial output from top trading partner China.
AUD/USD traded at 0.7667, up 0.41%, while USD/JPY changed hands at 112.63, up 0.08%. NZD/USD fell 0.26% to 0.7004 as the release of the new Labour-led government's federal budget showed lower growth ahead.
China reported industrial production for November came in at a gain of 6.1%, compared with a 6.2% rise seen followed by retail sales which rose 10.2%, compared to a 10.3% rise expected and fixed asset investment came in up 7.2% as seen.
Earlier, Australia reported employment change data for November showed job jumped by 61,600 with a gain of 19,200 jobs expected and under a steady unemployment rate of 5.4% and participation rate of 65.5%, higher than the 65.1% seen.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, eased 0.02% to 93.38.
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 riskier 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.
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.