Asia Session

With a shortage of data and little market direction to begin the week after the US holiday weekend, currencies took their cue from softer Asian equities, as the Yen got a boost from investors seeking safety. The moves in Yen began in earnest at the open, with USD/JPY opening lower and continuing to fall as the session progressed. The pair opened just above the 96.00 figure and sank to near 95.25 before a little bounce near the end of the day. Lower stocks in Japan led by the Nikkei's losses of over 1% put weight on all yen crosses led by an almost 200 pip drop in GBP/JPY which fell from just south of 157.00 to a touch under 155.50. EUR/JPY was only a few steps behind, falling from near 134.00 to just under the 133.00 big figure. The Yen also forced losses against its Aussie, Kiwi, Canadian and Swiss counterparts. Traders look to take positions in the Yen or to a lesser degree these days, the Dollar when uncertainty casts a cloud over the markets.

The rest of the markets dealt with mostly lackluster moves in a lulled market today. EUR/USD was able to erase early dollar strength and post about a 30 pip gain on the day after opening near 1.3955. The dollar looks like it may have to endure repeated attacks about its credibility heading into this weekends G8 summit in Italy as the greenback as the global reserve currency seems to be a hot topic on the agenda. Although the dollar lost a step against the Canadian dollar and the Swiss Dollar today, trading against the Pound, Aussie and Kiwi Dollars were mostly unchanged for the session. Many traders were looking ahead to Wall Street's opening bell for clues to the FX markets. With a lack of data today in Asia as well as the upcoming London session, expect some traders to sit on the sideline and wait for some direction. In Asia, that direction might present itself with the upcoming Australian rate decision and employment data this week.

Upcoming Economic Data Releases (London Session) prior expected