Asian session: The dollar held a two-day gain versus the yen

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

00:30 Australia Leading Index April +0.1% +0.6%

The dollar held a two-day gain versus the yen amid speculation Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will today provide more information about when U.S. policy makers will start to reduce bond purchases. Bernanke will hold a press conference in Washington today following the central bank's meeting. He said on May 22 the Fed could reduce its monthly purchases of $45 billion of Treasuries and $40 billion of mortgage securities if the employment outlook shows sustainable improvement.

Demand for the euro may be bolstered before a composite index based on a survey of purchasing managers in manufacturing and services industries. The gauge is estimated to have risen to 48.1 in June from 47.7 the previous month, London-based Markit Economics will say tomorrow, according to a Bloomberg News poll of economists. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.

EUR / USD: during the Asian session the pair traded in the range of $ 1.3385/00

GBP / USD: during the Asian session the pair traded in the range of $ 1.5615/40

USD / JPY: during the Asian session the pair holds around Y95.40

The stand out feature Wednesday is the Fed's FOMC policy statement following a two-day meeting and the latest post-meet press briefing from Fed Chair Bernanke. Ahead of that, there are full calendars in both Europe and the US, starting at 0700GMT when the ECB Governing Council's mid-month meeting gets underway. Also at 0700GMT, Spanish April industrial orders will be released. At 0730GMT, EU Economics and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn is scheduled to deliver a speech at a Brussels Economic Forum. WTO Director General Pascal Lamy will give a speech at the same forum from 0800GMT. At 0900GMT, the EMU April construction output numbers are set to cross the wires, with analysts looking for little changed on the -1.7 M/M and -7.9% Y/Y seen in March. Also at 0900GMT, the latest DIW economic research institute growth forecasts will be published. At 1030GMT, German Chancellor Merkel and US Pres Obama will give a joint press conference in Berlin. Later, they will both deliver speeches fromthe Brandenburg Gate (1300GMT). At 1215GMT, ECB's Member Erkki Liikanen will give a speech at the Brussels Economic Forum. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble will deliver a speech at a conference in Berlin from 1245GMT.

The main UK release comes at 0830GMT, when the latest Bank of England minutes are released - detailing the last to be chaired by outgoing Governor Mervyn King. Analysts expect that there was a repeat of the 6-3 vote against undertaking further quantitative easing. Recent economic data suggest the UK economy may finally be improving and this has alleviated the need for any further stimulus from the MPC.

Early US data sees the release of the MBA Mortgage Index for the June 14 week at 1100GMT. The EIA Crude Oil Stocks data for the week ending June 14 are expected at 1430GMT.