Investing.com - The yen and Aussie were quoted slightly weaker Wednesday in Asia ahead of data sets on machinery orders in Japan and housing in Australia.
USD/JPY changed hands at 101.90, up 0.02%, while AUD/USD traded at 0.7670, down 0.03%.
In Japan, core machinery orders are due with a 3.1% gain seen month-on-month and a 4.2% drop expected year-on-year. As well PPI figures arrive with a 4.0% decline seen year-on-year.
In Australia, the Westpac consumer sentiment index is up for August with a 3.0% fall in the previous month, along with home loans for June with a 2.4% gain expected month-on-month and invest housing finance for June with a 3.9% gain the previous month. Later in the day, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens speaks.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was last quoted at 96.06.
Overnight, the dollar moved lower against the other major currencies on Tuesday, but remained supported by Friday’s strong U.S. jobs report, while investors turned their attention to Friday’s U.S. retail sales data for further indications on the strength of the economy.
The greenback remained broadly supported after Friday’s upbeat U.S. nonfarm payrolls report boosted expectations for a rate hike by the Federal Reserve before the end of the year.
Earlier Tuesday, preliminary data showed that U.S. nonfarm productivity dropped by 0.5% in the second quarter, disappointing expectations for a 0.4% rise, after a 0.6% slip in the three months to March.