Investing.com - The Australian dollar traded a touch stronger in Asia on Wednesday ahead of consumer price data and a flash HSBC report on the state of China's manufacturing sector and remarks from a Bank of Japan board member.
AUD/USD traded at 0.9369, up 0.03%, while USD/JPY traded flat at 102.62, ahead of Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Hiroshi Nakaso speaking at the International Association of Deposit Insurers Asia-Pacific Regional Committee meeting in Kyoto from 0925 to 0955 Tokyo time (0025 to 0055 GMT).
Australia's Q1 CPI data are due at 1130 Sydney (0130 GMT) with expectation for a quarter on quarter gain of 0.8% and year-on-year increase of 3.2%, above the Reserve Bank of Australia's 2% to 3% target range.
At 0145 GMT comes HSBC's China April flash manufacturing PMI.
Later, the Bank of Thailand is due to make its monetary policy decision and expected to stand pat.
Overnight, the dollar traded mixed to lower against most major currencies after investors priced in U.S. housing and regional factory data and sought fresh steering currents in a listless session.
Industry data revealed that existing home sales in the U.S. fell by 0.2% in March to 4.59 million units, and while soft, the numbers did beat expectations for 4.55 million units.
A separate report showed that the Richmond Fed manufacturing index jumped to 7 this month, from a reading of -7 in March, beating expectations for a reading of 0.
The numbers gave the greenback some support, though many investors remained in standby mode ahead of a speech European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Thursday, which allowed the greenback to edge lower in quiet trading.
Euro zone inflation has now been in the ECB’s danger zone of below 1% for six straight months, adding to pressure on policymakers to implement fresh stimulus measures to shore up the region's fragile recovery.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.01% at 79.99.
On Wednesday, the U.S. is to publish reports on new home sales and manufacturing activity.