Dollar firms as investors eye US jobs data

Tokyo - The dollar firmed against the euro and yen in Asia on Wednesday on building optimism over the health of the US economy.

But the resource-dependent Australian dollar hit six-year lows as evidence mounts that Chinese growth is slowing.

The US unit fetched ¥120.04 in Tokyo afternoon trade, up from ¥119.51 in New York on Tuesday.

The euro was mixed at $1.1286 and ¥135.49 against $1.1313 and ¥135.20.

US jobs figures for August, to be announced on Friday, were widely expected to be positive, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg, who estimated more than 200 000 posts were created for the fourth straight month.

While unspectacular, that would add momentum to a tentative recovery in the world's largest economy.

Investors are weighing the likelihood of a Federal Reserve increase in zero-level interest rates this month. The US central bank will determine the timing of its first rate hike since 2006 after looking at economic data.

"The US dollar should hold up given payrolls on Friday," Imre Speizer, a senior market strategist at Westpac Banking Corp. in Auckland, told Bloomberg News.

"There's no reason to think that we will get a bad result and that should keep pricing for a Fed hike in place."

The over-arching narrative of recent months - slowing growth in China - remained in place after fresh data on Tuesday showed the country's vast manufacturing sector was contracting.

China - which accounts for around 13% of global GDP - has been almost the sole bright spot in the worldwide economy since the financial crisis erupted in 2008.

But signs of weakening are sending shudders around the world, with economies heavily dependent on trade with resource-hungry Beijing taking a hit.

Australia, which on Wednesday announced an underwhelming 0.2% quarterly growth in GDP, is on the front line; its currency, which was on a par with the greenback two years ago, hit 69.82 US cents on Tuesday. It later crept back up above the 70c mark.

The dollar was broadly stronger against other Asia-Pacific currencies.

It rose to Sg$1.4146 from Sg$1.4076 on Tuesday, to 46.73 Philippine pesos from 46.70 pesos, to 1 180.98 South Korean won from 1 171.70 won, and to Tw$32.47 from Tw$32.36.

The greenback also strengthened to 35.74 Thai baht from 35.72 baht, to 66.30 Indian rupees from 66.23 rupees, and to 14 131.80 Indonesian rupiah from 14 085 rupiah.

The Chinese yuan fetched ¥18.85 against ¥18.91.