Investing.com - The Australian dollar traded flat on Monday in early Asia ahead of a busy data day with Japanese markets closed for a holiday.
AUD/USD held flat at 0.9277, while EUR/USD traded at 1.3875, up 0.04%.
The US Dollar Index, measuring a basket of six currencies against the greenback, was down 0.01% at 79.55.
Australia's April AI Group Services Index is due at 0930 Sydney (2330 GMT) with the most recent reading into the contraction zone in March at 48,9.
Then TD Securities-MI's monthly inflation gauge which in March rose by just 0.2% month-on-month, but the annual figure at 2.7% is above the Reserve Bank of Australia's mid-point in the 2% to 3% target. This is followed by ANZ's April job advertisement survey.
March building approvals data is due at 1130 (0130 GMT) with the expectation of a 1.0 gain month-on-month.
Chinese markets return from their Labour Day holidays with the release of HSBC's April final manufacturing PMI at 0945 local time (0145 GMT). Expectations are for a nudge up to 48.4 points from 48.3 in March.
Last week, the dollar gave up gains against most of the other major currencies after a report showing that the U.S. economy added jobs at the fastest pace in more than two years in April also showed weaker earnings growth and a drop in labor force participation.
The Labor Department reported Friday that the U.S. economy added 288,000 jobs in April, well above expectations for jobs growth of 210,000. The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to a five and a half year low of 6.3%, compared to expectations for 6.6%.
Earlier in the week, preliminary data showed that U.S. gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of just 0.1% in the first three months of the year, well below forecasts for an expansion of 1.2%.
Despite the sharp slowdown in growth the Federal Reserve said Wednesday it would reduce its bond purchases to $45 billion a month. The Fed also said interest rates would remain on hold at record lows for a "considerable time" after the bond-buying program ends later this year.
Concerns that the euro zone is falling into deflation persisted after data on Wednesday showed that the annual rate of inflation ticked up to 0.7% in April, from a record low 0.5% the previous month, but still remained well below the European Central Bank’s target of close to but just below 2%.
The slight uptick in consumer prices did ease pressure on the ECB to implement further monetary easing measures to tackle low inflation in the region.
In the week ahead, market participants will be focusing on Thursday’s ECB monetary policy announcement. Rate reviews by BoE and the Reserve Bank of Australia will also be closely watched. Australia, New Zealand and Canada are all to release employment reports and the U.S. is to produce data on service sector activity.
On Monday, markets in the U.K. are to remain closed for the May Day holiday.
In the U.S., the Institute of Supply Management is to publish a report on service sector activity.