Asian session: The yen declined versus most of its 16 major counterparts

22:00 New Zealand ANZ Job Advertisements (MoM) March +5.3% -1.0%

22:30 Japan BOJ Governor Shirakawa Speaks -

22:45 New Zealand CPI, q/q Quarter I -0.3% +0.6% +0.5%

22:45 New Zealand CPI, y/y Quarter I +1.8% +1.6% +1.6%

23:50 Japan Adjusted Merchandise Trade Balance, bln March -313.2 -446.3 -621.3

01:30 Australia NAB Quarterly Business Confidence Quarter I 1 -1

The yen declined versus most of its 16 major counterparts as Bank of Japan officials signaled they’ll add to easing efforts to weaken the currency and help return the nation to an export surplus. The yen fell for a third day against the dollar as a report showed Japan had a trade deficit last month after an unexpected surplus in February. Japan reported a trade shortfall of 82.6 billion yen ($1 billion) in March from a revised surplus of 29.4 billion yen in the previous month. The prediction in a Bloomberg News survey was for a 223.2 billion yen deficit.

The euro held losses versus the greenback before Spain, the currency union’s fourth-biggest economy, sells bonds amid debt contagion concerns. Spain and France plan to raise as much as 13.5 billion euros ($17.6 billion) in debt today as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s struggles to meet deficit targets and the French presidential elections drive up yields. Spain is issuing as much as 2.5 billion euros in two- and 10-year bonds, while France has set a maximum target of 11 billion euros for securities including 2017 notes and 2018 inflation-linked debt. Spain’s borrowing costs rose at a sale of one-year and 18-month bills for the first time since November on April 17.

The so-called Aussie and kiwi dollars rose against the yen after Xinhua News Agency said China will boost liquidity by cutting reserve requirements if necessary, citing an unidentified central bank official. China is Australia’s biggest trading partner and New Zealand’s second-largest export market.

EUR/USD: during the Asian session the pair traded in a range $1.3105-$1.3130.

GBP/USD: during the Asian session the pair traded in a range $1.6010-$1.6035.

USD/JPY: during the Asian session the pair gain to a yesterday's high.

In Europe at 1400GMT, the Eurozone flash consumer climate data for April is also due. US data starts at 1230GMT when weekly jobless claims are expected to fall 10,000 to 366,000 in the April 14 employment survey week. There is a raft of US data due at 1400GMT, including NAR existing home sales, the latest leading indicators and also the Philadelphia Fed Survey. Late US data then sees the 2030GMT release of M2 money supply data.