Investing.com - The yen gained and Aussie weakened in Asia on Thursday following domestic data sets with the Fed as a backdrop after it signaled higher chances of a rate hike by the end of the year.
AUD/USD changed hands at 0.7106, down 0.17%, while USD/JPY traded at 120.74, down 0.29%.
In Japan, industrial output rose 1.0% in September, far outpacing the fall of 0.5% expected month-on-month.
In Australia HIA new home sales sand 4.0% in September from a 2.3% gain in the previous month and the export price index for the third quarter was flat, compared to an 0.5% gain seen, while the import price index rose 1.4%, below the 1.6% rise expected.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand left the official cash rate unchanged at 2.75% as expected, but jawboned the currency lower by stating that lower interest rates would be required if the exchange rate remains high.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.01% at 97.69.
Overnight, the U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and in a direct reference to its next policy meeting put a December rate hike firmly in play.
Investors had expected the Fed to remain pat on rates, but the overt reference to December came as a surprise.
Data on Tuesday showing that a key measure of U.S. business investment plans fell for a second straight month in September curtailed expectations for higher interest rates.
Orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, a proxy for company spending on equipment, fell 0.3% in September after a 1.6% decline in August.
Another report showed that U.S. consumer confidence declined this month.
Earlier Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association said their mortgage market index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, declined by 3.5% in the week ending October 23 to 417.4. That follows a gain of 11.8% to 432.7 in the preceding week.