Investing.com - The yen traded steady to stronger in early Asia on Thursday in a light data day and following some upbeat data overnight from The U.S.
USD/JPY changed hands at 109.84, flat, while AUD/USD traded at 0.7803, up 0.10% with National Australia Bank set to release its latest survey on current business conditions.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose 0.50% to 94.54.
Overnight, the dollar erased losses against the other major currencies on Wednesday, as data showing that U.S. existing home sales rose more than expected last month boosted over shadowed the previous session’s disappointing housing sector reports.
The U.S. National Association of Retailers said that existing home sales rose 5.1% in March to 5.33 million units from the 5.07 million units in the revised data for February. The consensus forecast was for a 3.5% increase to 5.30 million units.
The report came a day after data showed that U.S. building permits fell unexpectedly by 7.7% in March to 1.086 million units, while housing starts declined by 8.8% to 1.089 million units.
But markets were still jittery as oil prices moved lower after a three-day oil worker strike in Kuwait, which had cut the country’s crude production nearly in half, ended late Tuesday.