Investing.com - The Australian dollar weakened in Asia on Monday despite fairly upbeat private surveys on housing and jobs.
The June AI Group/HIA housing construction index rose 5.1 points to 51.8, surprising with a lift into expansion from 46.7 in the previous month.
ANZ June job ads rose 4.3%, up sharply from an downward revised decline of 5.7% in May.
AUD/USD traded at 0.9356, down 0.09%, after the data while USD/JPY held at 102.15, up 0.08%, and EUR/USD changed hands at 1.3584, down 0.08%.
In the past week, the dollar ended the week higher against a basket of major currencies, one day after a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report for June revived speculation over when the Federal Reserve may start to raise interest rates.
The Labor Department reported that that U.S. economy added 288,000 jobs last month, well above expectations for jobs growth of 212,000. The previous month’s figure was revised up to a gain of 224,000 from a previously reported increase of 217,000.
The unemployment rate ticked down to 6.1% from 6.3% in May, the lowest in almost six years. The data was released a day early, ahead of the Independence Day holiday on Friday.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.10% at 80.39.
The euro came under pressure after the European Central Bank reiterated that it could use "unconventional measures" to combat persistently low levels of inflation in the euro area.
The ECB left all rates on hold on Thursday, in a widely anticipated decision, after cutting rates to record lows in June.
In the week ahead, investors will be focusing on Wednesdays’ minutes of the Federal Reserve’s June meeting, with few other major U.S. economic reports on the calendar.
On Monday, the Swiss National Bank is to publish data on its foreign currency reserves. This data is closely scrutinized for indications of the size of the bank’s operations in currency markets.
Canada is to publish data on building starts and the Ivey PMI.