Investing.com - The dollar was up in early Asia on Thursday ahead of a slew of data from key economies.
USD/JPY changed hands at 110.30, up 0.05%, while AUD/USD traded at 0.7904, up 0.03%
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was last quoted at 92.84, up 0.62%.
A busy day in Asia with data. In Japan, provisional industrial production data for July is due with a 0.5% decline expected.
Then in China, the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing's manufacturing and services PMIs for August are due, with the manufacturing been at 51.3, a dip from 51.4 last month.
In Australia, HIA new home sales for July are due and private new capital expenditure for the second quarter, seen up 0.3% and private sector credit for July seen up 0.5%.
Overnight, the dollar continued its comeback from a two-and-a-half-year slump, buoyed by a pair of economic reports that topped economists’ forecasts, raising investor expectations for solid third-quarter economic growth.
The dollar continued to rebound from a two-and-a-half year slump sustained on Monday, after private payrolls and gross domestic product data topped forecasts.
ADP employment data for August estimated private-sector payrolls rose by 237,000 compared a consensus estimates of 185,000.
The stronger-than-expected private payrolls report, which often serves as a precursor to monthly nonfarm payrolls data slated for Friday, pointed to continued strength in the U.S. labor market, easing expectations the Federal Reserve may abandon its plan to hike rates later this year.
The Commerce Department raised its estimate of second-quarter GDP growth to an annual rate of 3% from 2.6% previously, beating economists’ forecasts of 2.8%.
The rebound in the greenback pegged back the euro, a day after the single currency soared above $1.20 on the back of expectations that the ECB will announce plans at its autumn meeting to taper its bond-buying program.
The greenback pared losses against safe-haven currencies like the yen and Swiss franc, following a dip in geopolitical tensions, as traders weighed President Donald Trump’s somewhat measured response to North Korea’s missile launch over Japan.