Investing.com - The dollar was little changed against the yen and the euro on Tuesday as trade remained subdued after a market holiday in Japan as investors awaited Friday’s latest U.S. jobs report for fresh indications on the direction of monetary policy.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was last at 97.03 in rangebound trade.
The dollar was almost unchanged against the yen, with USD/JPY at 120.72.
The euro edged lower, with EUR/USD easing 0.1% to 1.1005, while EUR/JPY was at 132.88.
Investors were looking ahead to Fridays U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for indications on the likelihood of a December rate hike.
The Federal Reserve left rates on hold last week but indicated that it could still raise interest rates for the first time since 2006 at its December meeting.
Market sentiment remained subdued after a crop of survey data on Monday indicated that global manufacturing activity remained sluggish in October.
In the U.S., the Institute of Supply Management said its manufacturing purchasing managers’ index ticked down to two-year low of 50.1 in October from 50.2 in September.
However, an increase in new orders indicated that the slowdown in manufacturing may be bottoming out.
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar was higher, with AUD/USD last up 0.66% to 0.7193 after the country’s central bank kept interest rates on hold.
The Reserve Bank held interest rates at 2.0%, but noted that the subdued inflation outlook meant there could be scope for further easing to support the economy.