Asian session: The yen slid to a 16-month low

05:00 Japan Annualized Housing Starts, blnNovember 0.9780.9110.907

The yen slid to a 16-month low against the euro before data tomorrow that may show a decline in Japan’s consumer prices, fanning speculation Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will push the central bank to boost cash infusions. Government data may show tomorrow that Japan’s consumer prices excluding fresh food fell 0.1 percent in November from a year earlier, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. That compares with the Bank of Japan’s target of 1 percent inflation.

The currency touched the lowest since September 2010 versus the dollar after Abe said in a media briefing yesterday that “bold’ monetary policy is one of the three pillars of his economic measures.

President Barack Obama and U.S. Congress return to Washington today to continue negotiations over the so-called fiscal cliff, or more than $600 billion in automatic tax increases and spending cuts that take effect next month. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said there’s ‘‘significant uncertainty” around tax and spending policies, according to a letter he sent to congressional leaders yesterday.

The Philippine peso slid to a five-week low after the government intensified efforts to contain a surging currency.

EUR/USD: during the Asian session, the pair rose to $ 1.3245.

GBP/USD: during the Asian session, the pair traded in the range of $ 1.6120-45.

USD/JPY: during the Asian session, the pair rose to Y85.85.

UK data at 0930GMT sees BBA Lending Data, including Mortgage Approvals. US data starts at 1330GMT when the level of initial jobless claims is expected to rise 4,000 to 365,000 in the December 22 pre-Christmas week. Also at 1500GMT, the Conference Board's index of