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

21:45 New Zealand Building Permits, m/m December -5.2% +6.0% +9.4%

23:50 Japan Retail sales, y/y December -0.1% +0.4% +0.1%

The yen declined versus most of its major counterparts as Asian stocks rose for a second day, spurring investors to buy higher-yielding assets amid expectations Japan will expand monetary stimulus. Japan’s currency is poised for a 4.5 percent drop against the dollar in January. That would be a fourth month of declines, the longest losing streak since August 2008.

The dollar approached its weakest in more than a year versus the euro before data forecast to show U.S. growth and job gains slowed. The U.S. Commerce Department will probably say today the nation’s gross domestic product advanced at a 1.1 percent rate in the three months through December, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. That would be the weakest since the first quarter of 2011. Companies added 165,000 jobs in January, down from 215,000 the previous month, the Roseland, New Jersey-based ADP Research Institute is forecast to say today according to a separate Bloomberg poll.

The Federal Open Market Committee will issue its policy statement today.

The so-called kiwi dollar held an advance from yesterday against the yen after a report showed permits for dwellings rose 9.4 percent from November to 1,566, the most since May 2008, Statistics New Zealand said in Wellington. Economists had predicted a 6 percent increase.

EUR/USD: during the Asian session, the pair traded in the range of $1.3480-95.

GBP/USD: during the Asian session, the pair traded in the range of $1.5740-60.

USD/JPY: during the Asian session, the pair rose above Y91.00.