Investing.com - The dollar was little changed against the euro on Thursday as investors stuck to the sidelines ahead of the European Central Bank’s meeting later in the day, while the yen fell to two-week lows against the greenback.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.3728, moving off the previous session’s lows of 1.3706.
The ECB was expected to hold off from cutting rates to fresh record lows but was expected to take other steps to tighten policy, amid ongoing concerns over the subdued inflation outlook for the euro area.
Figures released last Friday showed the annual rate of inflation in the euro area was unchanged at 0.8% in February, but remained well below the ECB's target of just under 2.0%.
Data on Wednesday showing that euro zone private sector activity expanded at the fastest pace since June 2011 in February eased pressure on the bank to cut rates.
A separate report showed that euro zone retail sales rose more strongly than forecast in January, indicating that the recovery in the euro zone is improving.
USD/JPY rose to 102.82, the highest since February 21 and was last up 0.40% to 102.70, extending its pullback from a trough of 101.19 reached on Monday, as concerns over the crisis in Ukraine weighed.
Elsewhere, the dollar was little changed against the pound and the Swiss franc, with GBP/USD dipping 0.03% to 1.6715 and USD/CHF edging up 0.08% to 0.8878.
The Australian dollar rose to seven-day highs, with AUD/USD up 0.57% to 0.9036. Australia’s dollar was boosted after data on Thursday showed that domestic retail sales rose 1.2% in January, well ahead of expectations for a 0.5% gain.
A separate report showed that Australia's trade surplus expanded to A$1.43 billion in January from A$0.59 billion in December.
Meanwhile, NZD/USD climbed 0.44% to 0.8452.
The U.S. dollar was little changed against the Canadian dollar, with USD/CAD inching up 0.03% to 1.1035.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged up 0.06% to 80.15.