Aussie steeply down on weak jobs data, Greece bailout turmoil still eyed

On Thursday the Australian dollar dropped sharply on disappointing jobs data that underlined a vulnerable view on economic recovery and on continued turmoil in Greece bailout talks.

Australia's January labor force survey showed unemployment up to 6.4%, higher than the 6.2% expected and 12.200 jobs lost compared to 5,000 seen and participation rate unchanged at 64.8%.

AUD/USD traded at 0.7664, down 0.67%, while USD/JPY changed hands at 120.20, down 0.20%, on safe-haven demand and mixed data on machinery orders and company earnings.

Earlier the euro dipped after talks between Greece and its European partners failed to reach agreement on a way forward to allow the debt-laden country to get a needed funding program in place before the end of the month.

EUR/USD traded at 1.134, down 0.19%, after nearly seven hours of talks.

"We did make a lot of progress in the sense that we now understand better where we all are," Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem said at a press conference in Brussels. "But there was simply not enough to come to joint conclusions and that is the requirement to produce a statement."

The talks between European finance ministers that ran into Thursday morning meant that the Eurogroup failed to produce a joint statement on the outcome of the meeting. The talks will now move towards next Monday when another Eurogroup meeting in Brussels will take place.

In Australia, Reserve Bank Assistant Governor Guy Debelle is due to speak at a FX Week conference in Sydney.

Also in Australia, MI inflation expectations showed a mean view of 2.6%, compared to 2.4% in January, an unexpected rise following drop in headline CPI in the fourth quarter.

In Japan, December machinery orders rose 8.3%, well above the 2.7% gain expected and January CGPI rose 0.3%, less than the 1.1% on year expected, but still the 22nd straight year-on-year rise.

The yen edged down after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the Group of 20 nations didn't criticize his bank's monetary easing program, indicating confidence to continue on the path of monetary stimulus.

Overnight, the dollar pushed higher against the other major currencies on Wednesday, as sentiment waned amid mounting concerns over whether Greece will reach a compromise deal with creditors to extend its bailout program.