On Tuesday the Japanese currency held weaker in Asia after China reported better-than-expected figures on GDP, industrial output and retail sales. The safe haven yen remained underpinned on Monday as last week’s market volatility meant that investors remained risk adverse.
USD/JPY traded at 118.22, up 0.56%. AUD/USD changed hands at 0.8198, down 0.16%.
China's fourth quarter GDP rose 7.3%, industrial production gained 7.9% in December and retail sales increased 11.9%, all beating expectations.
Analysts expected the authorities to report that the economy expanded 7.2% year-on-year in the final three months of last year, down on the third quarter's gain of 7.3%, and the slowest quarterly growth rate since the start of 2009.
Retail sales were seen up 11.7% year-on-year in December, unchanged from November. Industrial production rose 7.4% in December year-on-year, a gain over November's 7.2% increase.
Overnight, the greenback remained close to 12-year highs against the other major currencies on Monday, as trading volumes were seen to be thin throughout the session with U.S. markets closed for a national holiday. The U.S. dollar index rose 0.26% to 93.09.
The euro stayed pressured amid growing expectations that the European Central Bank will start a government bond-buying program at its meeting on Thursday, in a bid to stave off the threat of deflation in the euro area.
EUR/USD traded at 1.1582, up 0.19%, in Asia.
An interim ruling last Wednesday, which is likely to be accepted by the European Court of Justice, said the ECB was free to pursue a bond purchasing program without legal challenge.
Last Thursday, the Swiss National Bank abandoned its three-year old 1.20 per euro exchange rate cap in a shock move, signaling that it expects the ECB to act this week.
The dollar and the euro continued to strengthen against the Swiss franc, after plummeting to multi-year lows. USD/CHF fell 0.06% to 0.8789 in Asia Tuesday.
Earlier Monday, official data showed that Swiss producer price inflation fell 0.4% last month, compared to expectations for a 0.6% decline, after a 0.7% drop in November.
