Investing.com - The Aussie fell after disappointing trade data, while the yen also drifted lower Thursday in Asia with the focus on U.S. data at the end of the week.
AUD/USD traded at 0.7287, down 0.32%, while USD/JPY changed hands at 123.28, up 0.03%.
Australia reported HIA New Home Sales for October fell 3.0% month-on-month as well as trade data that showed a deficit of A$3.305 billion, wider than the deficit of A$2.665 billion seen for October.
Earlier, the AIG Services Index came in at 48.2 in November, down from 48.9 the previous month.
The Caixin China Services PMI for November fell to 51.2, compared to 53.1 expected.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.02% to 100.02.
Overnight, the dollar extended gains to fresh eight-month highs against the other major currencies on Wednesday, as the release of strong U.S. jobs data added to expectations for a December rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
Payroll processing firm ADP said U.S. non-farm private employment rose by 217,000 last month, above expectations for an increase of 190,000.
The economy created 196,000 jobs in October, whose figure was upwardly revised from a previously reported increase of 182,000.
The upbeat data added to speculation that the Fed will raise interest rates at its December meeting.
Investors were eyeing a string of U.S. economic reports this week, including Friday's nonfarm payrolls report for further indications on the strength of the economy, as the Fed has said that any decision on interest rates will depend on data.
Sentiment on the euro also remained vulnerable amid signals by the ECB over the past weeks that it is ready to implement additional easing measures in order to boost inflation in the euro zone and support growth.