Asian session: The yen fell

01:30 Australia Private Sector Credit, m/m May +0.3% +0.3% +0.3%

01:30 Australia Private Sector Credit, y/y May +3.1% +2.9% +3.1%

05:00 Japan Housing Starts, y/y May +5.8% +6.3% +14.5%

The yen fell against its 16 major peers, poised for a second weekly drop versus the dollar, as surging equity markets reduced demand for haven assets. Chinese stocks rose for the first time in eight days as People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan pledged money market stability. In Japan, consumer prices excluding fresh food were unchanged from a year earlier in May, the statistics bureau reported in Tokyo today, in line with analyst estimates. Industrial production increased 2 percent in May from the month before, when it rose 0.9 percent, according to preliminary figures from Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Economists had forecast a 0.2 percent gain.

The U.S. currency climbed to a more than two-week high against the yen before data forecast to show consumer sentiment in the U.S. was stronger and business activity expanded this month. A report today is forecast to show U.S. consumer confidence was better than initially estimated in June. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment was at 83 in June, compared with a prior reading of 82.7 for the month, according to the median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg News survey. The gauge would still be lower than the six-year high of 84.5 reached in May.

Australia's dollar fell, set for its biggest quarterly drop since 2008, before the Reserve Bank meets next week after saying it has scope to cut borrowing costs.

EUR / USD: during the Asian session the pair rose to $ 1.3075

GBP / USD: during the Asian session the pair rose to $ 1.5280

USD / JPY: during the Asian session the pair rose Y99.00

The US calendar starts at 1200GMT, when the first of the Fed speakers appears, As US Federal Reserve Gov. Jeremy Stein gives a speech on monetary policy to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. At 1315GMT, Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Jeffrey Lacker will deliver a speech on the economic outlook in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Economic data sees the release of the June MNI Chicago Report at 1345GMT, followed by the June University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment report at 1355GMT. The MNI Chicago Report's business barometer is expected to fall back to a reading of 55.0 in June after surging to 58.7 in May, the highest reading since May 2012. The Michigan Sentiment index is expected to be revised up slightly to a reading of 83.0 in June from the 82.7 preliminary reading. There are two further Fed speakers to end the day. At 1600GMT, Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank Senior Vice President Mark Schweitzer will deliver a speech. Then, at 1930GMT, San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams gives a speech on the economy in Rohnert Park, California.