The dollar edged higher against other major currencies on Friday, as investors were eyeing the release of highly-anticipated U.S. employment data due later in the day.
The greenback came under pressure after the release of mixed U.S. economic reports on Thursday.
Payrolls processor ADP reported on Thursday that U.S. private employers added 250,000 jobs in December, well above economists’ expectations.
A separate report showed that U.S. jobless claims increased by 3,000 last week to 250,000, disappointing expectations for a 6,000 decline.
The U.S. dollar briefly recovered after Fed policymakers acknowledged, in the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s December meeting released Wednesday, that the U.S. labor market and economic activity remain strong, despite persistently low inflation.
The minutes seemed to suggest that the central bank will continue to raise rates gradually but the pace could pick up if inflation rises.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.10% at 91.69 by 02:00 a.m. ET (06:00 GMT).
The euro and the pound were steady, with EUR/USD at 1.2058 and with GBP/USD at 1.3558.
The yen and the Swiss franc were lower, with USD/JPY rising 0.27% to 113.06 and with USD/CHF adding 0.17% to 0.9756.
Elsewhere, the Australian and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.31% at 0.7840 and with NZD/USD easing 0.08% to 0.7150.
Earlier Friday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that the country’s trade deficit widened to A$628,000 in November from A$302,000 in October, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated A$105,000.
Analysts had expected the trade deficit to widen to only A$550,000 in November.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD edged up 0.10% to 1.2502.
