Forex- Aussie down ahead of retail sales, yen weaker ahead of U.S. jobs

Investing.com - The Australian dollar fell on Friday ahead of retail sales data and the yen trended weaker with the overall market focus on U.S. jobs data later in the day.

AUD/USD traded at 0.8114, down 0.09%, while USD/JPY changed hands at 119.78, up 0.10%.

Non-farm payrolls are seen posting 240,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate is expected to edge down to 5.7% from 5.8%.

In Australia, the Aigroup construction index is due at 0930 Sydney time (2230 GMT) followed by the 1130 (0030 GMT) release of Nov retail sales data. The construction index could rebound after a surprise 8.0-point fall in November, but a rise into expansion is unlikely. Retail sales for November are expected to rise 0.2% month-on-month after a 0.4% increase in October.

China then takes centerstage with the release of CPI and PPI data for Dec. at 0930 local time (0130 GMT). Consumer price inflation is expected to have remained subdued in December, rising in line with November's 1.4% gain. A bigger concern is the expected fall in producer prices. They were down 2.7% in November.

Later in the day, Japan's November preliminary indices of leading, coincident and lagging indicators are due at 1400 Tokyo (0500 GMT). The coincident composite index (CI), which reflects current business conditions, is expected to post the first fall in three months in November, down by around 1.1 points, after rising 0.6 points in October.

Overnight, tThe dollar was trading close to 12 year highs against a basket of major currencies on Thursday after data on initial jobless claims pointed to an ongoing recovery in the labor market as investors turned their attention to Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was flat at 92.55.

The dollar remained supported after the Department of Labor reported that initial jobless claims fell by 4,000 to 294,000 last week, just slightly above expectations of 290,000.

The report came a day after data showing the U.S. private sector added a larger-then-forecast 241,000 jobs in December. The upbeat reports boosted the outlook for the U.S. recovery and raised expectations for a strong reading of the government nonfarm payrolls due on Friday.

The euro was at 10-year lows, with EUR/USD at 1.1779, the weakest since December 2005.