Asian session: The yen weakened

The yen weakened against all of its 16 major counterparts before the Bank of Japan releases minutes tomorrow of its Oct. 4-5 meeting amid speculation the central bank will ease monetary policy further.

The Japanese currency fell for a third day versus the euro after Panasonic Corp.  forecast the second-biggest loss in company history, fanning speculation the nation’s trade deficit will worsen. Panasonic, Japan’s second-biggest TV maker, scrapped its profit forecast yesterday, saying the net loss may total 765 billion yen in the year ending March 31. Nintendo Co., the world’s largest maker of video-game machines, cut its full-year net income projection last week by 70 percent, citing a stronger yen. Japan’s imports exceeded exports by 3.22 trillion yen in the six months ended Sept. 30, the biggest trade deficit for a fiscal half-year period, the Ministry of Finance said on Oct. 22. The nation posted a shortfall in September for a third- consecutive month.

Australia’s dollar was near a two-week high after Chinese data showed manufacturing improved in the world’s second-largest economy. Implied volatility among Group-of-Seven currencies slid to a five-year low. Official figures today showed that a Chinese manufacturing gauge based on a survey of purchasing managers climbed to 50.2 in October from 49.8 in September. That matched the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

EUR / USD: during the Asian session, the pair traded in the range of $1.2950-70.

GBP / USD: during the Asian session, the pair traded in the range of $1.6120-35.

USD / JPY: during the Asian session, the pair rose above Y80.00, approaching week’s high.

At 1000GMT, the release of unemployment data for the eurozone is  due to be published. The German government are due to conduct a press conference in Berlin at 1200GMT. At 1300GMT, Euro-area finance ministers are scheduled to hold a conference call on Greece. US data kicks off at 1100GMT with US MBA Mortgage Applications for the week ending October 26th. US data continues at 1230GMT, with the release of the US Employment Cost Index, which is expected to rise 0.4%in the third quarter following the 0.5% rise in the previous quarter.  More US data is due at 1400GMT, with the release of the US October Help-wanted Online report.