| EUR/USD | USD/JPY | GBP/USD | USD/CHF | |
| 1.4910(M) | 92.10(M) | 1.6510(M) | 1.0425(M) | |
| Resistance | 1.4865(M) | 91.95(M) | 1.6470(M) | 1.0390(M) |
| 1.4845(M) | 91.65(M) | 1.6390(M) | 1.0330(M) | |
| 1.4695(M) | 90.10(S) | 1.6320(M) | 1.0170(M) | |
| Support | 1.4610(M) | 89.90(M) | 1.6210(M) | 1.0140(M) |
| 1.4560(M) | 89.70(S) | 1.6135(M) | 1.0015(M) |
The yen traded high against the greenback amid speculation Japanese companies returned from a three day holiday to repatriate funds before the end of the fiscal first half. The yen also rose versus all of its 16 major counterparts after a government report showed Japan’s exports fell for an 11th month, curbing demand for risky assets. “Yen repatriation by Japanese firms will likely peak today and tomorrow,” said Yuji Saito, head of the foreign-exchange group in Tokyo at Societe Generale SA, France’s third-largest bank. “There are probably a lot of yen-purchase orders from exporters after three days of holidays. This may lead to buying of the yen.” The USD/JPY is currently trading at 90.66 as of 7:44am, London Time.
Sterling rallied on Wednesday after Bank of England minutes showed no policymakers voted to increase its asset buying plan and that cutting the interest paid on bank reserve deposits was not discussed. BoE Monetary Policy Committee members voted unanimously to keep the asset purchase programme at 175 billion pounds in September and to keep interest rates at a record low 0.5 percent, the minutes showed. They gave no indication the MPC had considered cutting the remuneration rate on commercial banks' deposits with the BoE -- an issue aired by Governor Mervyn King last week in testimony that markets took as offering a grim view on the UK economy. Wednesday's minutes showed MPC members were cautious on the economic outlook, while noting that recent strong data may lead to an upward revision to second-quarter growth. Some analysts said traders had taken that as a sign to buy sterling. The GBP/USD is currently trading at $1.6380 as of 7:50am, London Time.
The Federal Reserve signaled that the U.S. economy’s return to growth is insufficient to withdraw stimulus as officials seek to reduce the highest unemployment rate in a quarter century. “They’re going to be in that accommodative phase for a while,” said Vincent Reinhart, a former Fed monetary-affairs director who’s now a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. The Fed’s “tactical goal isn’t just to get to the rate of growth of potential,” he said. “It’s to work down the level of slack.”
Today's Economic Events
| Time | Event | Currency/Country | Period | Previous | Forecast | Significance | Actual |
| 23:50 | Corp Service Price (Y-o-Y) | Japan | Yearly | -3.4 | -3.5 | 3 | |
| 22:45 | Trade Balance | NZ$/New Zealand | -163 | -329 | 2 | ||
| 22:45 | Imports | NZ$/New Zealand | 3.34 | 3.45 | 3 | ||
| 22:45 | Exports | NZ$/New Zealand | 3.18 | 3.1 | 3 | ||
| 22:45 | Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes | Japan | 2 | ||||
| 14:30 | EIA Natural Gas Inventory (Cubic Feet) | United States | 3458 | 2 | |||
| 14:00 | Existing Home Sales - Sales | United States | 5.24 | 2 | |||
| 12:30 | Initial Jobless Claims | United States | 545 | 2 | |||
| 12:30 | Continuing Claims | United States | 6230 | 3 | |||
| 8:00 | Germany IFO - Business Climate | Germany | 90.5 | 92 | 2 | 91.3 | |
| 8:00 | Germany IFO - Current Assessment | Germany | 86.1 | 88 | 2 | 87 | |
| 8:00 | Germany IFO - Expectations | Germany | 95 | 96.8 | 2 | 95.7 | |
| 4:30 | All Industry Activity Index (M-o-M) | Japan | Monthly | 0.1 | 2 | ||
| 1:00 | HIA New Home Sales (M-o-M) | Australia | Monthly | 0.1 | 4 |
