Asian session: The dollar gained to the highest level

05:00 Japan Consumer Confidence January 41.3 43.9 40.5

05:00 Japan Eco Watchers Survey: Current January 55.7 55.5 54.7

05:00 Japan Eco Watchers Survey: Outlook January 54.7 54.0 49.0

The dollar gained to the highest level in more than a week against the yen as investors bet the Federal Reserve will press on with a reduction in stimulus before Chairman Janet Yellen speaks to U.S. lawmakers tomorrow.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index halted a five-day slide, even after a Feb. 7 report indicated employment growth last month in the world’s biggest economy was less than analysts expected. The Labor Department said last week hiring in the U.S. rose by 113,000 in January, fewer than the 180,000 gain that was the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News and following a 75,000 increase the prior month. Unemployment fell to 6.6 percent, the least since October 2008, from 6.7 percent in December.

The yen weakened against most major peers as Japan’s finance ministry said the nation’s current-account deficit widened to a record in December. The December deficit pushed Japan’s 2013 current-account surplus down to about 3.3 trillion yen, reducing the balance that allows Japan to be less reliant on foreign capital and makes the yen a haven from financial turmoil.

The euro snapped an advance from last week before data today that may show factory production in France declined. In France, industrial production probably fell 0.2 percent in December from the previous month, when it rose 1.3 percent, according to the median estimate by economists surveyed by Bloomberg before today’s report.

EUR / USD: during the Asian session, the pair traded in the range of $1.3615-30

GBP / USD: during the Asian session, the pair traded in the range of $1.6395-15

USD / JPY: during the Asian session, the pair rose to Y102.65

At 0645GMT, the Swiss January unemployment data is set for release and is seen unchanged at 3.5%. French data kicks off at 0730GMT, when the French December Bank of France business survey is set for publication, followed at 0745GMT by the release of the December industrial output data. Italian December industrial output data will be released at 0900GMT, seen flat on month and higher by 0.9% on year. At 0930GMT, the EMU February sentiment index will cross the wires. The last scheduled European release comes at 1100GMT, when the December leading indicator crosses the wires.