Investing.com - The yen was a tad stronger in early Asia on Friday after producer prices data showed a faster monthly pickup than expected.
USD/JPY changed hands at 107.01, down 0.07%, while AUD/USD traded at 0.7410, down 0.27%.
In Japan, PPI data for May dropped 4.2% drop as expected year-on-year and rose at a 0.2% pace, faster than the 0.1% gain expected month-on-month.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose 0.13% to 94.22.
Overnight, the dollar pushed higher against the other major currencies on Thursday, pulling further away from a five-week trough after the release of upbeat U.S. jobless claims data boosted optimism over the strength of the economy.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending June 4 decreased by 4,000 to 264,000 from the previous week’s total of 268,000, which was revised up from the initial read of 267,000.
Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 3,000 to 270,000 last week.
The greenback weakened earlier in the week, as markets pushed back expectations on the timing of the next rate hike by the U.S. central bank after Friday’s dismal employment report for May, which showed the slowest rate of jobs growth since September 2010.
A speech by Fed Chair Janet Yellen on Monday indicated that interest rates won’t rise until uncertainty over the economic outlook is resolved.
The Fed raised interest rates for the first time in almost a decade in December.