Forex: Wednesday’s review

Yesterday the euro gained for a second day versus the dollar and yen as the International Monetary Fund proposed raising its lending capacity by as much as $500 billion to protect the global economy amid Europe’s debt turmoil. The 17-nation currency rallied against most of its major peers as Greek officials resumed negotiations with bondholders. The euro rallied versus the dollar and yen as an IMF spokesman said in a statement that the Washington-based lender wants to increase its resources after identifying a potential need for $1 trillion in coming years. The IMF is studying options and will not comment further until it has consulted its members, the fund said.

The dollar fell against the euro on reduced demand for a refuge as U.S. data showed a rebound in industrial production. The Dollar Index, which IntercontinentalExchange Inc. uses to track the greenback against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners, fell 0.7 percent to 80.522.

EUR/USD: yesterday the pair has grown more than on a figure, showed a new week’s high.

GBP/USD: yesterday the pair has grown on a figure, fixed above $1.54.

USD/JPY: yesterday the pair holds in range Y76.65-Y76.85.

EMU data starts at 0900GMT Thursday with the ECB current account data, which is released at the same time as the ECB publishes the

Monthly Bulletin. Also at 0900GMT, the Norges Bank publishes its Q4 2011 Bank Lending Survey. US data starts at 1330GMT with the weekly Jobless Claims as well as Housing Starts, Building Permits and the Consumer Price Index. The pace of housing starts is expected to fall slightly to a 680,000 annual rate in December after jumping 9.3% in November. The NAHB index rose in December to its highest level since May 2010, while warm weather in parts of the country should give a boost to home building. The CPI is expected to rise 0.1% in December after holding steady in November. Energy prices are expected to decline further in the current month after plunging in November. The core CPI is expected to also rise 0.1%.