Investing.com - The Aussie was down ahead of manufacturing PMIs from China and Japan while the yen held steady to stronger ahead of a look at Japan's manufacturing sector.
AUD/USD changed hands at 0.7329, down 0.10%, with Australia relying on China demand for many commodity exports, while USD/JPY traded at 123.39, down 0.02%.
Investors will again keep an eye on the yuan fixing by the People's Bank of China and manufacturing gauges in Japan and China.
First up is the Nikkei Japan PMI Manufacturing data initial for August at 1035 local, 0135 GMT followed closely by the the Caixin China Manufacturing PMI at 0945 local or
0145 GMT which will be the day's main event in Asia.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was up 0.0% to 95.78.
Overnight, the dollar slumped to session lows against a basket of other major currencies on Thursday after the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting gave no clear indication on the timing of an initial interest rate increase.
Wednesday’s minutes showed that Fed officials believe the economy is nearing the point where interest rates should move higher, but noted that the subdued inflation outlook and weakness in the global economy could still pose risks to the U.S. economic outlook.
Data on Thursday showed that the number of Americans who filed for unemployment assistance rose by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 277,000 last week, holding close to levels indicative of a strong labor market.
Separate reports showed that existing home sales rose to the highest level in eight years in July, while manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region grew at a faster than expected rate this month.