Investing.com - The Australian dollar trended weaker in Asia on Friday with China growth, retail sales and industrial production ahead expected to set the tone.
AUD/USD traded at 0.7556, down 0.07% with China the top trade destination for key commodities from Australia, while USD/JPY changed hands at 115.08, up 0.19%.
In China, GDP data for the fourth quarter of 2016 and the full-year is due with a 6.7% annual pace seen and a 1.7% increase quarter-on-quarter. As well China reports industrial production with a rise of 6.1% seen year-on-year for December and retail sales up 10.7% year-on-year, a tick down from 10.8% the previous month.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was last quoted down 0.21% to 101.10.
Overnight, the dollar held onto gains against the other majors currencies on Thursday, helped by upbeat U.S. data, although investors remained cautious ahead Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi acknowledged that the growth outlook for the euro area has improved, but reiterated that quantitative easing can be increased if the outlook becomes less favorable.
The comments came after the ECB left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record-low 0.0%, in line with forecasts, and kept the size of its monthly quantitative easing program at approximately €80 billion.
In the U.S., the Department of Labor said initial jobless claims in the week ending January 14 fell by 15,000 to 234,000. Analysts expected jobless claims to rise by 5,000 to 254,000 last week.
In addition, the U.S. Commerce Department said housing starts increased by 11.3% to 1.226 million units last month, beating expectations for a rise to 1.200 million units.
However, building permits unexpectedly decreased by 0.2% to 1.210 million units in December. A separate report showed that the Philly Fed manufacturing index rose to 23.6 last month from 21.5 in November, compared to expectations for a rise to 15.8.