Foreign exchange market. Asian session: the U.S. dollar traded higher against the most major currencies after the Federal Open Market Committee’s minutes

Economic calendar (GMT0):

(Time/ Region/ Event/ Period/ Previous/ Forecast/ Actual)

00:00 Australia Conference Board Australia Leading Index June +0.2% +0.4%

01:35 Japan Manufacturing PMI (Preliminary) August 50.5 51.5 52.4

01:45 China HSBC Manufacturing PMI (Preliminary) August 51.7 51.5 50.3

03:00 New Zealand Credit Card Spending July +6.0% Revised From +7.0% +4.5%

06:00 Switzerland Trade Balance July 1.41 Revised From 1.38 1.91 3.98

06:58 France Manufacturing PMI (Preliminary) August 47.8 47.9 46.5

06:58 France Services PMI (Preliminary) August 50.4 50.3 51.1

07:28 Germany Manufacturing PMI (Preliminary) August 52.4 51.8 52.0

07:28 Germany Services PMI (Preliminary) August 56.7 55.5 56.4

07:58 Eurozone Manufacturing PMI (Preliminary) August 51.8 51.4 50.8

07:58 Eurozone Services PMI (Preliminary) August 54.2 53.6 53.5

08:30 United Kingdom Retail Sales (MoM) July +0.1% +0.4% +0.1%

08:30 United Kingdom Retail Sales (YoY) July +3.6% +2.6%

08:30 United Kingdom PSNB, bln July 9.5 10.1 -1.1

The U.S. dollar traded higher against the most major currencies after the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) minutes. Some FOMC members believe that the Fed could tighten its monetary policy due to improvements in labour market conditions and strengthening recovery in U.S. economy.

Most FOMC members want to wait for more information.

Investors speculate that the Fed may hike its interest rate sooner than expected.

The New Zealand dollar traded lower against the U.S dollar due to the strong U.S. currency and the weaker-than-expected economic data from China and New Zealand.

China's preliminary HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers' index dropped to 50.3 in August from 51.7 in July, missing expectations for a decline to 51.5.

China is New Zealand's second biggest export partner.

Credit card spending in New Zealand rose 4.5% in July, after a 6.0% gain in June. June's figure was revised down from a 7.0% increase.

The Australian dollar traded lower against the U.S. dollar due to the strong U.S. currency and the weaker-than-expected economic data from China.

The Conference Board released its leading index for Australia. The index climbed 0.4% in June, after a 0.2% rise in May.

The Japanese yen declined against the U.S. dollar due to the strong greenback.

Japan's preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 52.4 in August from 50.5 in July, exceeding expectations for an increase to 51.5.

EUR/USD: the currency pair declined to $1.3241

GBP/USD: the currency pair fell to $1.6562

USD/JPY: the currency pair increased to Y103.95

The most important news that are expected (GMT0):

12:00 U.S. Jackson Hole Symposium

12:30 U.S. Initial Jobless Claims August 311 299

13:45 U.S. Manufacturing PMI (Preliminary) August 55.8 55.7

14:00 U.S. Consumer confidence August -8 -9

14:00 U.S. Existing Home Sales July 5.04 5.01

14:00 U.S. Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey August 23.9 20.3