Investing.com - The Australian dollar held weaker early Thursday in Asia and the Japanese yen steady ahead of a fairly busy data day.
AUD/USD traded at 0.9434, down 0.10%, while USD/JPY was flat at 101.78.
Australia's June AI Group services index is due at 0930 Sydney (2230 GMT), with the focus on it possibly nudging into expansion from the 49.9 level in May.
Also up in Australia are May retail trade, with a 0.3% gain expected month-on-month, and building approvals, with a 3.0% increase expected month-on-month, at 1130 (0130 GMT).
Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens is due to speak to an event of the Australia Conference of Economists in Hobart at 1100 (0100 GMT).
In China today, the June CFLP service PMI is expected at 0900 local time (0100 GMT), followed by the 0945 (0145 GMT) release of the June HSBC service PMI.
Overnight, the dollar traded largely higher against most major currencies after a private-sector jobs report came in much stronger than anticipated, boosting hopes official data will do likewise on Thursday.
Payroll processor ADP reported earlier in its nonfarm payrolls report showed that the U.S private sector added 281,000 jobs last month, beating expectations for an increase of 200,000 and the highest since November 2012.
The upbeat data eased concerns that headwinds may be slowing U.S. recovery.
A separate report showed that U.S. factory orders fell by a larger than forecast 0.5% in May.
Elsewhere, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said earlier that the appetite for risk appears to be on the rise though the country's top economist sees no need to immediately alter today's accommodative U.S. monetary policy.
Corporate bond spreads have been falling as have volatility indicators such as the Volatility S&P 500, which may indicate investors are taking on risks despite the possibility of facing losses for which they might not be fully prepared, Yellen said in a speech at the International Monetary Fund.
Still, policy will remain accommodative, as Fed policies aren't a panacea to deal with financial risks.
The dollar, however, firmed anyway on sentiments that rates are set to rise next year regardless.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.01% at 79.97.
On Thursday, the Institute for Supply Management will publish its report on U.S. service-sector activity on top of the widely-watched U.S. jobs report.