Investing.com - The dollar was steady against the euro and the yen on Thursday ahead of U.S. data later in the session, while the Australian dollar fell to more than three year lows following a dire jobs report for December.
USD/JPY hit highs of 104.92, the strongest since January 10 and was last up just 0.01% to 104.60.
Demand for the dollar continued to be underpinned after upbeat economic data on Wednesday reinforced expectations that the U.S. recovery will continue to gain momentum this year.
Investors were awaiting U.S. data on consumer inflation and initial jobless claims, due for release later in the trading day.
The dollar was almost unchanged against the euro, with EUR/USD dipping 0.02% to 1.3601.
The euro found some support after European Central Bank governing council member Jens Weidmann played down fears over the threat of deflation in the currency bloc, saying the risk of broad deflation was limited.
The comments came as data confirmed the annual rate of consumer inflation remained well below the ECB’s 2% target in December. Eurostat said consumer price inflation rose 0.8% on a year-over-year basis in December, in line with expectations and unchanged from a preliminary estimate.
The dollar was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD sliding 0.23% to 1.6333, while USD/CHF slipped 0.10% to 0.9078.
The Australian dollar was sharply lower after data showed that the economy shed 22,600 jobs in December, compared to expectations for new jobs growth of 7,500. Australia’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.8% in line with forecasts. AUD/USD hit 0.8777, the lowest since August 2010 and was last down 1.47% to 0.8784. NZD/USD was down 0.44% to 0.8300.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD edged down 0.10% to 1.0923, holding below the four year highs of 1.0990 struck on Wednesday. Canada’s dollar remained broadly weaker after dismal employment data last week cemented expectations that the Bank of Canada will stick to its dovish stance on interest rates.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged up 0.03% to 81.14.