Investing.com - The Aussie gained on Friday in Asia after a central bank set of economic forecasts and retail trade data aided sentiment, and investors geared up for U.S. jobs data and a potential volatile few days leading up to the U.S. presidential election next week.
AUD/USD traded at 0.7687, up 0.07%, while USD/JPY changed hands at 102.94, down 0.04%. GBP/USD traded at 1.2479, up 0.14%. On Thursday, the UK high court ruled that the government does not have the authority to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to start the UK’s exit from the EU without a parliamentary vote, sending the pound sharply higher.
The Reserve Bank of Australia said Friday it is focused on the medium-term inflation target and sustainable growth in judging the cash rate stance at its November meeting and determining it "appropriate."
As well from Australia, retail sales jumped 0.6% in September month-on-month, beating a 0.4% gain expected, but the third quarter figure dipped 0.1%, missing the 0.4% rise seen.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell 0.02% to 97.17.
Also on Friday, the key U.S. nonfarm payrolls report will be released, and could reinforce or undermine current expectations of a rate hike in December, now seen at 66.8% according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
Overnight, the dollar was moderately lower against the other majors currencies on Thursday, hovering close to a three-week trough as uncertainty over the outcome of the U.S. presidential elections continued to weigh and markets turned to Friday’s employment report.
The Institute of Supply Management earlier said its non-manufacturing purchasing manager's index fell to 57.1 last month from 57.1 in September. Analysts had expected the index to decrease to 56.0.
The report came shortly after the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending October 29 increased by 7,000 to 265,000 from the previous week’s total of 258,000.
Analysts expected jobless claims to hold steady at 258,000 last week.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious after the FBI said last Friday that it would review more emails related to Hillary Clinton's private email use while she was secretary of state.
The news sparked fresh uncertainty over Mrs. Clinton’s election prospects ahead of the November 8 vote, amid fears over the implications of a victory for Republican candidate Donald Trump.