By Lisa Twaronite, MarketWatch
TOKYO (MarketWatch) — The dollar edged higher against major rivals in Asia trading Thursday, as investors awaited the European Central Bank’s meeting later in the session for the latest developments in the European debt crisis.
The Australian dollar (AUDUSD 0.9681, -0.0001, -0.0103%) traded down 0.1% to 96.57 U.S. cents, and fell as low as 96.28 U.S. cents earlier, after data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Australian retail sales declined in October.
That marked the second piece of disappointing data on the economy in as many days, and made it more likely the Reserve Bank of Australia will tighten at its policy meeting next week.
The dollar index (DXY 80.45, -0.26, -0.33%) ,a measure of the U.S. unit against a basket of major rivals, traded at 80.731, compared with 80.734 in late North American trade Wednesday.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar (USDYEN 84.1100, -0.0800, -0.0950%) slipped slightly, buying ¥84.06, down from ¥84.16. See real-time currency quotes and tools.
The euro (EURUSD 1.3188, +0.0054, +0.4111%) slipped to $1.3123 from $1.3129 late Wednesday, and the British pound (GBPUSD 1.5647, +0.0027, +0.1728%) fell to $1.591 from $1.5612.
Later Thursday, investors will be watching ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet’s monthly post-meeting news conference. Read preview of ECB meeting.
“The ECB meeting today will be the highlight. The Bank is widely expected to keep rates at 1.0%. Focus will be on whether the central bank will keep its three-month liquidity operations unlimited in scope and if bond purchases are expanded,” said Sue Trinh, senior currency strategist at the Royal Bank of Canada in Hong Kong, in a note to clients Thursday.
