Investing.com - The Aussie gained in early Asia on Wednesday ahead of consumer sentiment and housing finance looks.
AUD/USD traded at 0.7026, up 0.11%, while USD/JPY changed hands at 119.99, up 0.15%.
At 1030 Sydney (0030 GMT) the September Westpac-MI Consumer Sentiment is up with the August sentiment rebounding sharply, up 7.8% to 99.5.
Then at 1130 (0130 GMT), there's July housing finance data with a gain of 0.8% expected month-on-month after a 4.4% jump the month before.
About half an hour later (0200 GMT), RBA Deputy Governor Philip Lowe is due to speak at CEDA event in Melbourne. CEDA website says Lowe will give a keynote address on economic conditions and prospects in the Australian economy.
In Japan, the Cabinet Office releases August Consumer Confidence Survey at 1400 Tokyo time (0500 GMT). In July, the consumer confidence index fell 1.4 points to a seasonally adjusted 40.3 for the first drop in two months, slumping to the lowest reading since 39.5 in January.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.04% at 95.88.
Overnight, the dollar slipped lower against against the other major currencies in subdued trade on Tuesday, amid mounting uncertainty over whether or not the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its meeting this month.
Sentiment on the greenback remained fragile after Friday's U.S. jobs report failed to provide much clarity on when the Fed will decide to raise short term interest rates.
The Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy added 173,000 jobs last month, the smallest increase in employment in five months and was below expectations for 220,000, while the unemployment rate ticked down to 5.1%, its lowest level since April 2008.
Meanwhile, the single currency remained supported after the European Central Bank indicated last week that it could scale up its quantitative easing program amid increased risk to the region’s inflation outlook from slowing growth in China and falling oil prices.