Asian session: The yen dropped against all its major peers

The yen dropped against all its major peers, reaching the weakest in more than three months against the dollar, as gains in Asian stocks and signs of growth in the U.S. economy damped demand for haven assets.

The dollar weakened versus 13 of its 16 major counterparts before the release of an index of U.S. leading indicators forecast to show a fourth month of gains. The Conference Board’s gauge of the U.S. outlook for the next three to six months increased 0.5 percent in January after climbing 0.4 percent in December. The cost of living in the U.S. may have climbed 0.3 percent last month from December, economists projected before today’s Labor Department report. Prices excluding volatile food and energy costs, the so-called core index, probably rose 0.2 percent after a 0.1 percent rise a month earlier, another Bloomberg survey showed.

The New Zealand dollar, known as the kiwi, extended gains against most of its major peers this week after Reserve Bank Governor Bollard said gross domestic product could be as much as 10 percent higher than official data by adopting a range of statistical conventions used in other countries such as Australia.

The euro gained against the yen for a second day amid speculation Greece will get its second bailout, with the region’s finance ministers scheduled to meet Feb. 20. The 17-nation currency was poised to decline versus the dollar this week. A euro-area index based on a survey of purchasing managers in the manufacturing industry will probably be 49.2 in February compared with 48.8 last month, London-based Markit Economics is predicted to say on Feb. 22 according to a Bloomberg poll of economists. That would be the seventh-straight month below the 50 level that separates contraction from expansion.

EUR/USD: during the Asian session the pair consolidated in a narrow range.

GBP/USD: during the Asian session the pair holds nearby $1.5800.

USD/JPY: during the Asian session the pair gain, updated new week’s high.

On Friday data starts at 0700GMT, with the release of German January PPI data. At 0900GMT, ECB December current account data was released. At 1000GMT, EMU Dec construction output data hits the screens. UK data is due at 0930GMT, with the release of the January Retail Sales data. The US calendar gets under way at 1330GMT, with the release of the latest consumer price data. The core CPI is expected to rise 0.2% after the 0.1% rise in December. Also at 1330GMT, Canadian Leading Indicators are released. U.S. January Leading Indicators are released at 1500GMT. Lastly, at 2115GMT, U.S. C&I loans data is released.