Forex - Aussie, yen steady ahead of Australia Q3 GDP, China services

Investing.com - The yen and Aussie were steady in early Asia on Wednesday with GDP data due out of Sydney and China services from Beijing expected to set the tone.

AUD/USD traded at 0.8448, down 0.03%, while USD/JPY changed hands at 119.24, down 0.01%. EUR/USD traded flat at 1.2383.

China's less-closely watched services PMI for November from the CFLP is due at 0900 local/0100 GMT. In October, it dipped to 53.8 from 54.0 in October, while HSBC's (0945/0145 GMT) slipped to 52.9 from 53.5. Both indexes have been largely range bound for months.

Elsewhere, Australia's November AIGroup services index rose 0.2 point to 43.8, rebounding slightly from October when the index fell for the eighth month in a row to the lowest reading since August 2013.

At 1130 (0030 GMT) is the release of Australia's third quarter GDP data, with a gain of 0.7% expected quarter-on-quarter.

Overnight, the dollar firmed against most major currencies on Tuesday after a U.S. construction barometer beat expectations and fueled hopes for sustained recovery, while uncertainty ahead of the European Central Bank's Thursday announcement on monetary policy fueled safe haven demand for the greenback as well.

The Census Bureau reported earlier that U.S. construction spending rose 1.1% in October from a month earlier, beating market estimates for a 0.6% gain after a 0.1% contraction in September.

It was the largest gain since May, and the report boosted the dollar by cementing expectations for the Federal Reserve to hike benchmark borrowing costs in 2015.

Investors were keeping an eye towards Friday, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its November jobs report.

Meanwhile across the Atlantic, the European Central Bank will announce its latest decision on monetary policy this Thursday, and investors avoided the euro ahead of time on uncertainty as to whether monetary authorities will announce fresh stimulus measures.

Data released last Friday revealed that the annual rate of euro area inflation slowed to a five-year low of 0.3% last month from 0.4% in October.

Sentiment on the single currency also remained vulnerable after data on Monday showed that the euro zone’s manufacturing purchasing managers' index slowed to 50.1 from a preliminary reading of 50.4 last month, just barely above the 50 level separating growth from contraction.

The ECB's current stimulus program includes purchases of asset-backed securities and covered bonds, though markets are keeping a close eye out for plans to announce purchases of government debt, a stimulus tool known as quantitative easing that weakens paper currencies by suppressing interest rates.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, Spain reported that the number of unemployed people declined by 14,700 in November, compared to expectations for an increase of 57,300, after a 79,200 rise in October.

In the U.K., construction activity expanded at the slowest rate in more than a year in November, dampening optimism over the country’s economic outlook, according to industry data.

Market research firm Markit Economics and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply reported that their U.K. construction purchasing managers' index declined to a seasonally adjusted 59.4 in November from 61.4 in October. Economists had expected the index to fall to 61.2 in November.

On the index, a reading above 50.0 indicates expansion, below indicates contraction.

The US dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.01% at 88.70.