Investing.com - The U.S. dollar traded lower during Thursday’s Asian session as traders in the region focused on some soft jobs data out of the world’s largest economy.
In Asian trading Thursday, EUR/USD climbed 0.26% to 1.3616. The common currency found solid footing after Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta survived a vote of confidence in parliament on Wednesday after Silvio Berlusconi backtracked in his opposition to the coalition.
The single currency also rose after the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged at 0.5%.
ECB President Mario Draghi said risks to the euro zone economy remained on the downside and added the bank viewed the recovery as “weak, fragile and uneven” before reiterating that bank rates would remain at current or lower levels for an “extended period of time."
Draghi reiterated that the ECB remains ready to extend a third round of ultra-cheap loans to banks to safeguard the recovery.
USD/JPY jumped 0.23% to 97.58 as the yen sold off after being embraced as a safe-haven alternative to the green back in recent days.
GBP/USD rose 0.07% to 1.6237. Sterling is now found flirting with nine-month highs against the greenback.
On Thursday, the U.S. is scheduled to release its weekly government report on initial jobless claims along with data on factory orders.
However, it was jobs data out Wednesday that appears to be weighing on the U.S. dollar in Thursday’s Asian session. Meanwhile, US jobs figures reported by the ADP came in weaker than expected, reflecting another downturn in hiring for September. The August figure was revised lower from 176,000 to 159,000 while the September reading came in at 166,000, lower than the 177,000 estimate.
The ADP number could take on added significant because in the midst of the U.S. government shutdown, the Labor Department may not be able to release the September jobs report on Friday as scheduled.
USD/CAD lost 0.15% to 1.0323 while USD/CHF dropped 0.21% to 0.9010. AUD/USD inched up 0.05% to 0.9392 while NZD/USD dipped 0.31% to 0.8304 after China’s National Bureau of Statistics said the country’s official purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the non-manufacturing sector rose to 55.4 in September from 53.9 in August.
The U.S. Dollar Index fell 0.12% to 79.90.
In Asian trading Thursday, EUR/USD climbed 0.26% to 1.3616. The common currency found solid footing after Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta survived a vote of confidence in parliament on Wednesday after Silvio Berlusconi backtracked in his opposition to the coalition.
The single currency also rose after the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged at 0.5%.
ECB President Mario Draghi said risks to the euro zone economy remained on the downside and added the bank viewed the recovery as “weak, fragile and uneven” before reiterating that bank rates would remain at current or lower levels for an “extended period of time."
Draghi reiterated that the ECB remains ready to extend a third round of ultra-cheap loans to banks to safeguard the recovery.
USD/JPY jumped 0.23% to 97.58 as the yen sold off after being embraced as a safe-haven alternative to the green back in recent days.
GBP/USD rose 0.07% to 1.6237. Sterling is now found flirting with nine-month highs against the greenback.
On Thursday, the U.S. is scheduled to release its weekly government report on initial jobless claims along with data on factory orders.
However, it was jobs data out Wednesday that appears to be weighing on the U.S. dollar in Thursday’s Asian session. Meanwhile, US jobs figures reported by the ADP came in weaker than expected, reflecting another downturn in hiring for September. The August figure was revised lower from 176,000 to 159,000 while the September reading came in at 166,000, lower than the 177,000 estimate.
The ADP number could take on added significant because in the midst of the U.S. government shutdown, the Labor Department may not be able to release the September jobs report on Friday as scheduled.
USD/CAD lost 0.15% to 1.0323 while USD/CHF dropped 0.21% to 0.9010. AUD/USD inched up 0.05% to 0.9392 while NZD/USD dipped 0.31% to 0.8304 after China’s National Bureau of Statistics said the country’s official purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the non-manufacturing sector rose to 55.4 in September from 53.9 in August.
The U.S. Dollar Index fell 0.12% to 79.90.