Investing.com - The Aussie gained on Thursday despite weaker than expected jobs data as investors focused on a drop in overall unemployment.
AUD/USD traded at 0.7324, up 0.34%, while USD/JPY changed hands at 119.16, up 0.27%.
In Australia, job slots fell by 5,100 in September, compared to expectations for a gain of 5,000. But the unemployment rate ticked down to 6.2%, compared to an expected 6.3%, as the participation rate dropped to 64.9% from 65%.
Earlier, the latest MI inflation expectations rose to 3.5% from 3.2%.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose 0.09% to 94.07.
Overnight, the dollar remained broadly lower against the other major currencies on Wednesday, after the release of disappointing U.S. retail sales and producer price inflation data dampened optimism over the strength of the economy.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Wednesday that retail sales increased by 0.1% last month, missing expectations for a gain of 0.2%.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, declined by 0.3% in September, worse than forecasts for a fall of 0.1%.
Data also showed that producer price inflation in the U.S. fell for the first time in five months in September.
Producer prices declined by 0.5% last month, worse than forecasts for a drop of 0.2%, while core PPI eased down by 0.3%, disappointing forecasts for a gain of 0.1%
In the euro zone, data on Thursday showed that industrial production fell 0.5% in August after an upwardly revised 0.8% increase in July.