The currency market was sedate on Thursday, with the U.S. dollar consolidating against major peers as market players awaited more data out of the world's largest economy for clues on the direction of Federal Reserve policy.

Chased by debt collectors over a mortgage delinquency in a southern Chinese city, former finance worker Lei Xiaoyu no longer answers her phone as she tries to delay the inevitable.

UK wage data did its best to pull sterling down from a seven-month peak on Tuesday but the economy is showing enough signs of improvement to persuade investors that the Bank of England will still have to keep interest rates higher for longer than its peers.

The Thai industrial sentiment index fell slightly in February due to slower domestic demand and exports, though tourism lent some support, the Federation of Thai Industries said on Wednesday.

Economists have upgraded Singapore's 2024 growth forecast, according to a survey by the country's central bank published on Wednesday, with better-than-expected external growth seen as the top upside driver for the economy.

Asian shares notched seven month highs on Wednesday, on the back of record peaks on Wall Street, as investors mostly shrugged off slightly hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation, betting it won't derail interest rate cuts expected by the middle of the year.