Investing.com - The dollar hit session lows against the yen on Thursday as doubts over whether the Federal Reserve will start to unwind stimulus measures this month weighed, while the euro came under pressure following the release of weak euro zone data.
During European late morning trade, the dollar was down against the yen, with USD/JPY skidding 0.61% to 99.28.
The dollar remained on the back foot after data late last week showed that the U.S. economy added slightly fewer jobs than expected in August.
The soft data raised some doubts over whether the Federal Reserve will start to unwind its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program at its upcoming policy meeting next week.
Elsewhere, the euro touched session lows against the dollar, with EUR/USD losing 0.13% to trade at 1.3291.
Data released on Thursday showed that industrial production in the euro area fell 1.5% in July, worse than expectations for a 0.1% decline. On a year-over-year basis industrial production fell 2.1%, more than forecasts for a 0.1% decline.
The weak data reinforced concerns over the economic outlook for the euro zone. Last week, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi reiterated that bank rates will stay at current or lower levels for an extended period to help shore up the recovery.
The pound was steady close to seven-month highs against the dollar, with GBP/USD inching up 0.03% to 1.5822.
Sterling found support after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said the U.K. economy is picking up as a result of the bank’s stimulus program. The comments came during testimony to parliament’s Treasury Select Committee.
The dollar was little changed against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF inching up 0.02% to 0.9307.
Elsewhere, the greenback was mixed against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD dropping 0.85% to 0.9249, NZD/USD advancing 0.92% to 0.8155 and USD/CAD edging up 0.03% to 1.0322.
The Australian dollar fell sharply after data showed that the Australian economy unexpectedly cut 10,800 jobs in August and the unemployment rate ticked up to 5.8% in August, from 5.7% the previous month.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand dollar was boosted after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand left interest rates unchanged at 2.5% and said rate hikes are likely to be required next year.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged up 0.01% to 81.72.
Investors were awaiting a speech by Mario Draghi later in the session, and the U.S. was to release data on jobless claims.
