Forex - Yen weaker, Aussie flat ahead of Westpac-MI, China price data

Investing.com - The Japanese yen weakened in early Asia on Wednesday and the Australian dollar held nearly flat ahead of a consumer sentiment survey from Sydney and price data from China.

USD/JPY traded at 107.29, up 0.22%, while AUD/USD held at 0.8710, down 0.04%. EUR/USD traded at 1.2643, down 0.11%.

In Australia comes Westpac-MI consumer sentiment survey for October at 2330 GMT, with the previous data showing a drop of 4.6%.

In China at 0130 GMT, consumer and producer price data for September is due with CPI seen up 0.4% on month and 1.7% on year, while PPI is expected down 1.6%.

Overnight, the dollar firmed against most major currencies after soft U.K. and euro zone economic indicators sparked demand for the greenback on expectations that U.S.

The U.S. is seen closing its monthly bond-buying programs this month and hiking interest rates in 2015, while ECB officials have said they will do what it takes to steer the euro zone away from deflationary decline, and Tuesday's data confirmed those sentiments.

The ZEW Centre for Economic Research reported earlier that its German economic sentiment index fell to -3.6 this month from September’s 6.9 reading. Analysts had expected the index to come in at 1.0 in October.

The index of euro zone economic sentiment plunged to 4.1 in September from 14.2 in August, well below expectations for a decline to 7.1.

A separate report showed that eurozone industrial production contracted 1.8% in August from July, outpacing expectations for a 1.6% decline. July's figure was revised to a 0.9% rise from a previously estimated 1.0% increase.

Year-on-year, industrial production fell 1.9% in August, surpassing expectations for a 0.9% decline and after rising at a rate of 1.6% the previous month.

Markets were also jittery amid the widening Ebola epidemic, as the U.K. announced on Monday that it will begin conducting fever tests for Ebola at Heathrow airport.

The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.01% at 85.91.