Asian session: The yen weakened against all its major counterparts

The yen weakened against all its major counterparts as stocks rose and investors speculated that the Bank of Japan will expand monetary stimulus next week. Japan’s Economy Minister Seiji Maehara, who has been calling for more action from the central bank, said earlier this week that he may attend the Oct. 30 meeting if his schedule permits. He was present at the central bank’s previous gathering this month, the first minister to do so for more than nine years. The BOJ last time expanded stimulus on Sept. 19, boosting the size of its asset-purchase program by 10 trillion yen ($125 billion).

New Zealand’s dollar reached its highest level in two weeks following the Reserve Bank’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged. Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Graeme Wheeler left the official cash rate at a record low 2.5 percent. Sluggish domestic demand and a rising currency have pushed inflation below the central bank’s target range of 1 percent to 3 percent target range.

The euro traded below $1.30 for a third day before data forecast to show German consumer confidence will fail to improve in November and French household sentiment fell for a fourth month, adding to signs that the region’s debt crisis is hampering growth in its biggest economies.

Demand for the dollar was limited after the Federal Reserve said it plans to continue bond buying in a third round of quantitative easing, which tends to debase the U.S. currency. The Fed said yesterday in a statement after a two-day policy meeting that the U.S. economy is still growing modestly and unemployment remains elevated.

EUR/USD: during the Asian session, the pair rose, approaching the previous day's high.

GBP/USD: during the Asian session, the pair rose to yesterday's high.

USD/JPY: during the Asian session, the pair rose to yesterday's high.

The release of the first estimate of UK GDP for the third quarter at 0830GMT is the singular data highlight for the week. At 1015GMT, the UK Bank of England  Deputy Governor Paul Tucker is due to deliver a speech in London. ECB September M3 is due to be published at  0800GMT along with Italian retail sales for the month of August. The US calendar kicks off at 1200GMT, with the release of US  September Building Permits Revision. At 1230GMT we see the release of US 20-October Initial Jobless Claims, which are expected to return to a more stable range of 370,000 after the wild swings in the last two weeks, which MNI noted were due to some technicalities in state reporting. Also at 1230GMT US September Durable Goods orders are due to be released and are expected to show modest gains in core figures, which exclude transportation and defence. Headline orders are expected to surge. Further US data is expected at 1400GMT, with the release of US  September NAR Pending Home Sales.