Asian session: The euro pared a weekly gain versus the greenback

The euro pared a weekly gain versus the greenback after House Republican leaders canceled a scheduled vote on Speaker John Boehner’s plan to allow higher tax rates for annual incomes above $1 million. Boehner, an Ohio Republican, said in a statement his tax measure “did not have sufficient support from our members to pass.” A House leadership announcement said the chamber will hold no more votes until after the Christmas holiday and will return “when needed.”

The 14-day relative strength index for the dollar against the euro was at 35 today, rising above 30 for the first since since Dec. 17, the level at which some investors view as an indication an asset may have fallen too far too quickly and is set to reverse direction.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars dropped as Asian shares and U.S. stock futures declined.

EUR/USD: during the Asian session the pair fell to $1.3180.

GBP/USD: during the Asian session the pair fell at yesterday's low of $1.6240.

USD/JPY: during the Asian session the pair fell at yesterday's low of Y83.85.

European data for Friday starts at 0700GMT with construction orders and import prices data from Germany, followed at 0710GMT by German GfK consumer confidence data. UK data is all due at 0930GMT. The Public Sector Finances data is expected to see PSNB grow to 14.5 billion, while PSNB-X grows to 16.4 billion. US: data starts at 1330GMT with Durable Goods and Personal Income, Expenditures. This is followed at 1455GMT by the University of Michigan Sentiment Index, which is expected to be revised up to75.0 in December, still well below the 82.7 reading in November.