Investing.com - The dollar was lower against the yen for a second day on Thursday after the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s January meeting showed that officials are concerned that global economic developments could have a negative impact on the U.S. economy.
USD/JPY was down 0.34% at 113.70, not far from Wednesday’s lows of 113.37.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, eased to 96.79.
Wednesday’s minutes showed that Fed officials were concerned that tighter global financial conditions could pose a risk to the U.S. economy.
Policymakers also discussed "altering their earlier views of the appropriate path for the target range for the federal funds rate," according to the minutes.
The dollar had risen against the yen earlier Wednesday after data showing that U.S. producer prices rose unexpectedly in January.
This off set another report showing that U.S. housing starts and building permits both fell last month, in a temporary setback to the housing market.
The low-yielding euro edged higher against the dollar, with EUR/USD edging up 0.09% to 1.1136.
The single currency was lower against the firmer yen, with EUR/JPY down 0.27% at 126.61.
Market sentiment remained supported as oil prices rose for a second day on hopes for a deal between major producers to freeze production in a bid to tackle the largest supply glut in decades.
The commodity linked currencies found support, with the Canadian dollar remaining close to almost two-month highs.
USD/CAD hit lows of 1.3654 and was last at 1.3687.
NZD/USD was at 0.6635, holding well above the two-week trough of 0.6544 hit earlier in the week.
But the Australian dollar remained on the back foot after data showing that the country’s unemployment rate ticked up to a four-month high in January.
AUD/USD was last at 0.7146 after falling to lows of 0.7134 immediately following the jobs report.