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Tokyo - The dollar was mixed on Wednesday after a disappointing US retail sales report aggravated concerns about the health of the world's top economy, while upbeat factory output data supported the embattled euro.
In Tokyo, the dollar was slightly higher at ¥119.67 against ¥119.44 in New York, but still down from above ¥119.80 earlier on Tuesday.
The euro firmed to $1.0639 from $1.0628, while it was at ¥127.29 against ¥127.24.
"Most of the focus was on the (dollar) overnight with the release of the March retail sales report," National Australia Bank said in a commentary.
"It was a slight miss, but much less so than the previous two reports."
Retail sales rebounded from a three-month slump in March, but the 0.9% gain was slightly weaker than estimated. Excluding auto sales, retail sales rose only 0.4% instead of the 0.7% increase expected.
The health of the world's top economy is seen as key to the timing of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike.
The US central bank has signalled that any rate rise - a plus for the dollar - largely depends on improving economic data.
With the tepid US figures, the euro gained support from a report showing eurozone industrial production rebounded a solid 1.1% in February after falling in January.
The upbeat news comes after the European Central Bank (ECB) launched a massive bond-purchase programme aimed at lowering borrowing costs and, in turn, boosting the tepid eurozone economy.
The encouraging eurozone report came ahead of the ECB's monetary policy meeting later Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the yen picked up against the dollar and euro after an economic adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the unit had slid far enough.
In a television interview Monday evening, Koichi Hamada added there was no need for the Bank of Japan to expand its massive easing plan, which has helped lop about 50 percent off the yen's value since Abe launched an economy-boosting programme in early 2013.
"The BoJ's monetary policy is far bolder" than the ECB's, Tetsuya Inoue, a former BoJ official and the chief researcher for financial technology and markets at Nomura Research Institute, told Bloomberg News.
"The yen, which faces relatively larger easing, is more prone to face selling pressure than the euro."
Investors were also keeping an eye on China where economic growth came in at 7.0% in the first three months of 2015, slightly better than the forecast in a survey by AFP but much slower than October-December.
It was also the worst for a single quarter since the first three months of 2009, in the depths of the global financial crisis.
The dollar was mixed against other Asia-Pacific currencies.
It strengthened to Sg$1.3638 from Sg$1.3634, to Tw$31.27 from Tw$31.25, and to 1 097.60 South Korean won from 1 095.10 won.
The greenback weakened to 32.46 Thai baht from 32.51 baht, to 44.57 Philippine pesos from 44.65 pesos, to 12 969.90 Indonesian rupiah from 13 030.00 rupiah and to 62.42 Indian rupees from 62.50 rupees.
The Australian dollar edged down to 75.93 US cents from 75.97c, while the Chinese yuan was weaker at ¥19.27 against ¥19.38.
