Asian session: The yen weakened

00:00 Australia Conference Board Australia Leading Index March +0.3% +0.1%

01:30 Australia RBA Meeting's Minutes May

03:00 New Zealand Credit Card Spending April -0.3% +0.4%

03:00 New Zealand Expected Annual Inflation 2y from now Quarter II +2.2% +2.1%

04:30 Japan All Industry Activity Index, m/m March +0.6% -0.3% -0.3%

The yen weakened against its major peers after Japan's Economy Minister Akira Amari backed away from weekend comments that prompted the currency to rally. Japan's currency climbed yesterday after Amari said further weakness may hurt "people's lives" and it was the government's job to minimize that. The minister said today he wouldn't comment on where the yen's decline would end. Amari said today he hopes the exchange rate will stabilize at a level that matches the nation's economic fundamentals. The Bank of Japan starts a two-day policy meeting today. BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said at a government meeting that it's natural for bond yields to rise gradually as the outlook for the economy and consumer prices improves, a Cabinet Office official told reporters yesterday.

The dollar remained lower versus the euro following a decline yesterday before Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and other central bank officials speak this week. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and New York Fed President William C. Dudley will speak today before Bernanke testifies in Congress tomorrow. Bullard said on April 17 that inflation had fallen too far below the Fed's 2 percent goal, and a further drop could prompt increased asset purchases by the central bank.

EUR / USD: during the Asian session, the pair traded in the range of $ 1.2860-00

GBP / USD: during the Asian session, the pair fell to $ 1.5220

USD / JPY: during the Asian session, the pair rose to Y102.75

Europe returns to the fray Tuesday after the Whitsun holiday. It is worth noting the Bank of Japan starts a two-day meeting today, with the outcome - expected Wednesday - likely to be no change in policy, as the board allows recent stimulus time to bed in. The European calendar gets underway at at 0600GMT, with the release of the German April PPI numbers. At 0700GMT, the Swiss National Bank is set to publish its Monthly Statistical Bulletin and Monthly Bulleting of Banking Statistics. At 1000GMT, the Bundesbank's monthly report will cross the wires. Riskbank Gov. Stefan Ingves will give a presentation on managing banking crises, in Stockholm from 1115GMT. Back in Europe, at 1300GMT, the Eurosystem's consolidated financial statement is set to hit the wires. At 1630GMT, ECB Executive Board member Peter Praet will deliver a speech on monetary policy in the context of balance sheet adjustment, to the Peterson Institute in Washington. ECB Governing Council Member Ewald Nowotny will speak at an award ceremony in Vienna from 1700GMT.