Asian session: The yen fell

00:30 Australia Leading Index May +0.7% Revised From +0.6% +0.2%

02:00 China Leading Index June +0.3% +0.1%

The yen fell after the Bank of Japan released minutes of its June 10-11 policy meeting today, in which one board member said it’s appropriate for the central bank to limit the period of its monetary stimulus to about two years and review it thereafter. If expectations rise in markets that the measures will continue for a longer period or “extreme” additional steps will be implemented, that would lead to economic instability in the medium to long term, the member said.

The dollar rose against a majority of its peers with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke due to testify to Congress today. The Fed purchases $85 billion of Treasuries and mortgage debt each month as part of its latest round of quantitative easing to cap borrowing costs, a program that tends to debase the currency.

The Bloomberg Dollar Index snapped a two-day decline before U.S. data that may show housing starts increased for a second month, adding to the case for the Federal Open Market Committee to slow monetary stimulus. The U.S. Commerce Department is likely to say today that housing starts climbed 5 percent in June from a month earlier to a 960,000 annualized rate, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

The pound fell toward a four-month low against the euro before the Bank of England releases minutes of its July 3-4 policy meeting today amid speculation Governor Mark Carney will tie central bank guidance on interest rates to economic developments.

EUR / USD: during the Asian session the pair fell to $ 1.3130

GBP / USD: during the Asian session the pair fell to $ 1.5105

USD / JPY: during the Asian session the pair rose to Y99.55

Wednesday sees a full calendar on both sides of the Atlantic, but  without doubt, the main focus will be on Fed Chair Bernanke's testimony on Capitol Hill. The European data calendar kicks off at 0700GMT, with the release of the May industrial orders data. At 0900GMT, the Euro area May construction output data will be published. At the same time, German Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Steffen is set to brief on the upcoming trip of German FinMin Wolfgang Schaeuble to Athens and on upcoming G20 Moscow meet.