Asian session: The yen declined versus all 16 major peers

01:30 Australia NAB Quarterly Business Confidence Quarter I -5 +2

The yen declined against major counterparts amid bets Japan will escape censure for weakening its currency at a Group of 20 meeting starting today. BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda unveiled a plan on April 4 to double the central bank’s holdings of government debt and stock funds in two years. Japan’s trade partners have expressed concern over the move, with the U.S. Treasury saying in its semi-annual currency report that Japan must “refrain from competitive devaluation.”

The currency earlier strengthened against most major peers after Japanese data showed domestic investors sold foreign bonds for a fifth week, casting doubt on whether monetary stimulus will continue to weaken the currency.

Domestic investors reduced their holdings of foreign debt by 331.9 billion yen ($3.4 billion) in the week ended April 12, according to data from the Asian nation’s Ministry of Finance. That followed a net sale of 1.14 trillion yen the prior week, the most in a year.

Australia’s dollar rebounded from a one-month low as Chinese stocks trimmed losses after data showed home prices in the South Pacific nation’s biggest trading partner increased. China’s new home prices rose in all but two cities. China’s new home prices in March climbed in 68 of the 70 cities the government tracks from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement today.

The New Zealand dollar rose. In New Zealand, job advertisements rose for a second month in March. The number of postings in newspapers and the Internet increased 0.7 percent last month from a revised 1.8 percent in February, ANZ Bank New Zealand Ltd. said in Wellington today.

EUR / USD: yesterday the pair rose to $ 1.3060

GBP / USD: yesterday the pair rose to $ 1.5250.

USD / JPY: yesterday the pair traded in the range of Y97.60-Y98.35.

UK data is expected at 0830GMT, with the release of the March Retail Sales numbers. The very cold March weather could well have provided yet more bad news for the U.K. High Street by persuading shoppers to stay at home. Analysts are looking for a fall of 0.6% on month.  A fairly light data calendar in the Eurozone today, with main attention to befocussed on US weekly jobless claims at 1230GMT and Phila Fed at 1400GMT.