Forex - Aussie up ahead of Q1 CPI, Yen awaits trade data

Investing.com - The Australian dollar gained ahead of consumer price data while the yen was mostly flat before trade data in early Asia on Wednesday.

AUD/USD traded at 0.7719, up 0.12%, while USD/JPY changed hands at 119.65, down 0.02%. EUR/USD traded at 1.0738, up 0.01%.

The March Westpac-MI leading index is due at 1030 Sydney time (0030 GMT) with the February index surprising with an above-trend reading for the first time since January 2014.

Then at 1130 (0130 GMT), Australia's first quarter CPI is due and expected to show a 0.2% quarter-on-quarter rise, the same pace as the fourth quarter with the annual pace seen at a gain of 1.3%.

In Japan today, March trade data are due at 0850 Tokyo time (2350 GMT). The forecast is for a trade surplus worth ¥50.0 billion, the first surplus in 33 months.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was at 98.25, up 0.05%. Overnight, the dollar was little changed against a basket of other major currencies in quiet trade on Tuesday, as the greenback continued to recover from the previous week's disappointing U.S. data.

The dollar regained some strength after a recent string of soft economic data dampened optimism on the U.S. recovery, adding to uncertainty over the timing of a rate hike.

The euro remained under pressure after the ZEW Centre for Economic Research said that its index of German economic sentiment declined by 1.5 points to 53.3 this month from March’s reading of 54.8. Analysts had expected the index to improve by 0.5 points to 55.3 in April.

However, the index of euro zone economic sentiment increased to a 14-month high of 64.8 in April from 62.4 in March, above forecasts for a gain to 63.7.

Sentiment on the single currency also remained fragile amid concerns that Athens is no closer to reaching an agreement on economic reforms for bailout funds with its creditors, fuelling fears that Greece could be forced out of the euro zone.