Investing.com - The Aussie gained in Asia on Monday as investors looked ahead to the second of three debates between U.S. presidential contenders Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton along with data sets this week and remarks from policy makers at the weekend.
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer and People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan all made comments at the weekend, among others, on the policy outlook in Washington at at an IMF meeting.
AUD/USD traded at 0.7601, up 0.20%, while USD/JPY changed hands at 103.05, up 0.14%. GBP/USD was quoted down 0.02% to 1.2433 following dramatic moves last week, including a sharp drop in the Asian time zone on Friday. Markets in Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong were shut regionally on Monday. Canadian markets are also shut.
China markets re-open after a week-long holiday.
In the week ahead, market players will be turning their attention to Wednesday’s minutes of the Federal Reserve’s September policy meeting for fresh clues on the timing of the next U.S. rate hike.
U.S. retail sales data will also be in the spotlight, as investors attempt to gauge if the world's largest economy is strong enough to withstand an increase in borrowing costs before the end of the year.
In addition, there are a handful of Fed speakers on tap, including Chair Janet Yellen, as traders look for more clues on the likelihood of a December rate hike.
Elsewhere, China is to release what will be closely watched trade and inflation data amid ongoing concerns over the health of the world's second biggest economy.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback's value against a basket of six major currencies, was last quoted at 96.52.
Last week, the U.S. dollar declined against a basket of major currencies on Friday, retreating from a more than two-month peak after U.S. employment data for September disappointed analysts’ expectations, while the British pound plunged after what traders called a "flash crash" knocked the currency to a 31-year low.
The U.S. economy added 156,000 jobs last month, down from a gain of 167,000 in August, while the unemployment rate ticked up to 5.0%, the Labor Department said Friday. Market analysts had expected 176,000 new jobs and the jobless rate to hold at 4.9%.
Despite the lackluster report, the slowdown was not expected to prevent the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates later this year. Markets are currently pricing in around a 65.1% chance of a rate hike at December's meeting, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.