Forex - Kiwi, Aussie fall in early Asia, yen stronger after mixed data

Investing.com - A mixed data set out of Japan saw the yen gain against the dollar, while the Kiwi fell along with the Aussie in a busy data set on Tuesday.

USD/JPY traded at 109.36, down 0.12%, while AUD/USD held at 0.8711, down 0.10%. NZD/USD fell to 0.7751, down 0.14% after business confidence plunged.

In Japan the August unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, below an expected 3.8%, household spending fell 4.7%, well below a forecast decline of 3.8%, a fifth consecutive year-on-year drop.

August preliminary industrial output fell 1.5% on month and retail sales rose 1.2%. The forecast for industrial output was a fall of 0.2% on month, while for retail sales, it was a gain of 0.5% on year, a second straight year-on-year rise.

At 1030 (0130 GMT), August preliminary average cash earnings are then due followed by August housing starts at 1400 (0500 GMT), seen down 14.2%

In Australia, the Reserve Bank of Australia releases private sector credit numbers at 1130 Sydney time (0130 GMT) with a forecast for a gain of 0.4% month-on-month.

In China, HSBC/Markit is due to release the final reading of their September PMI at 0945 local (0145 GMT). The flash reading, released last week, showed a surprise uptick to 50.5 from August's final 50.2, helping lift sentiment in a market which had been braced for a sub-50 reading.

In New Zealand, ANZ's September business confidence and activity outlook came in at 13.4 from 24.4 in August, down 50 points from a February peak.

Markets in China will be closed from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7 for the week-long National Day holidays.

Overnight, the dollar traded mixed against most major currencies as investors digested a mixed bag of U.S. data.

The National Association of Realtors reported earlier that its pending home sales index fell 1.0% to 104.7 in August from 105.8 in July. Economists had expected the index to tick down 0.1% last month.

Separately, the Commerce Department said that U.S. personal spending rose 0.5% in August, beating expectations for an increase of 0.4%, after a 0.1% dip in July.

The report also showed that personal income, reflecting income from wages, investment, and government aid, rose 0.3%, up from 0.2% in July, broadly in line with forecasts.

On Friday, the dollar advanced after the Commerce Department said U.S. gross domestic product expanded at an annual rate of 4.6% in the second quarter, in line with the consensus forecast.

The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was flat at 85.75.