Foreign exchange market. Asian session: increasing concerns over Ukraine had a negative impact on markets

Economic calendar (GMT0):

01:30    Australia                National Australia Bank's Business Confidence April      4.1                    6.0

05:00    Japan                    Eco Watchers Survey: Current                     April      57.9      45.2     41.6

05:00    Japan                    Eco Watchers Survey: Outlook                     April      34.7                  50.3

07:15    Switzerland            Retail Sales Y/Y                                              March +1.2%  +1.9% +3.0%

The U.S. dollar traded lower against the most major currencies. Increasing concerns over Ukraine had a negative impact on markets. Pro-Russian separatists said that the referendum held in two regions of eastern Ukraine proved successful. Both Ukrainian government and the West condemned the vote. Later in the day, the Congressional Budget Office will release the U.S. federal budget balance.

The New Zealand dollar traded higher against the U.S. dollar. No economic data was published in New Zealand.

The Australian dollar traded little changed against the U.S. dollar. The Australian currency was supported by good economic data from Australia. The National Australia Bank’s business confidence index increased to 6 in April, from 4.1 in March.

The Japanese yen declined against the U.S. dollar due to the weaker-than-expected Japanese economic data. Japan’s Ministry of Finance has released the current account figures. The current account surplus decreased to 116.4 billion yen in March, 612.7 billion yen in February. Analysts had expected a surplus of 347.7 billion yen.

EUR/USD: the currency pair traded mixed

GBP/USD: the currency pair traded mixed

USD/JPY: the currency pair climbed to Y102.05

The most important news that are expected (GMT0):

16:00    U.S.                       FOMC Member Charles Plosser Speaks                                                            

18:00    U.S.                       Federal budget                          April      -36.9     112.6    

23:01    United Kingdom     BRC Retail Sales Monitor y/y      April      -1.7%