Investing.com - The dollar turned lower against the yen and the euro on Thursday as investors turned their attention to the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting for further indications on the direction of monetary policy.
USD/JPY was down 0.18% to 119.78, extending its pullback from the week’s highs of 120.56.
The Fed was to publish the minutes of its September meeting later in the session.
Investors would be looking for any clues on whether the U.S. central bank will hike rates before the years end or wait until next year.
The dollar has come under pressure since last Friday’s weaker than expected U.S. jobs report prompted investors to push back expectations on the timing of an initial rate hike to early 2016.
The yen’s gains were held in check by expectations that the Bank of Japan could ease monetary policy as soon as its October meeting.
The BoJ kept monetary policy unchanged at its policy meeting on Wednesday but recent economic reports pointing to weakness in Japan’s economy have added to pressure on the bank to ramp up measures to bolster growth.
Data earlier on Thursday showed that Japan’s machinery orders unexpectedly fell in August, pointing to weakness in capital spending.
The euro was higher against the dollar, with EUR/USD rising 0.48% to 1.1292.
The single currency was also higher against the yen, with EUR/JPY rising 0.29% to 135.2.
Sterling edged higher, with GBP/USD inching up 0.11% to 1.5333 ahead of the Bank of England’s monetary policy announcement later in the day.
The BoE was expected to keep monetary policy on hold.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.37% to 95.30.