Investing.com - The dollar edged higher against the other major currencies on Thursday, as investors awaited the release of U.S. economic reports later in the day amid growing uncertainty over a possible U.S. rate hike before the end of the year.
The dollar was higher against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.19% at 120.10.
Demand for the dollar continued to be underpinned after data on Wednesday showed that the U.S. private sector added 200,000 jobs last month.
Investors were turning their attention to Friday’s U.S. jobs report for September, which could help to provide clarity on the likelihood of a near-term interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
Separately, markets were jittery after two surveys of China’s manufacturing sector earlier showed that factory activity continued to slow in September, adding to fears over the outlook for the world’s second largest economy.
China’s Caixin manufacturing index fell to 47.2 in September from 47.3 in August, the fastest contraction since March 2009.
The official manufacturing index ticked up to 49.8, up from 49.7 in August, but remained in contraction territory.
The dollar was also higher against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.26% to 1.1147.
Earlier Thursday, research group Markit said that Germany's final manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 52.3 last month from 52.5 in August. France's manufacturing PMI ticked up to 50.6 in September from 50.4 the previous month.
Markit also reported that its manufacturing PMI for the entire euro zone came out at 52.0 in September, in line with expectations.
Elsewhere, the dollar was steady against the pound, with GBP/USD at 1.5132, and was higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF gaining 0.57% to 0.9783.
Markit reported on Thursday that its U.K. manufacturing PMI eased to 51.5 in September from a revised reading of 51.6 in August. Economists had expected the index to tick up to 51.3.
In Switzerland, data earlier showed that retail sales fell 0.3% in August on a yearly basis, compared to expectations for a 0.3% rise and after a revised 0.1% gain in July.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were stronger, with AUD/USD up 0.82% to 0.7077 and with NZD/USD climbing 0.69% to 0.6441.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD slid 0.41% to trade at 1.3266.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.12% at 96.53.