European session: the pound retreated from four-year high

09:00 Eurozone Eurogroup Meetings

The British pound retreated from four-year highs against the dollar reached on housing data . Housing prices in Britain have risen markedly in February , registering with the largest increase in the last seven years . This was stated in the data, which were released on site estate Rightmove.

According to the report , average house prices across England and Wales increased in February to £ 251,964 , which was 6.9 percent higher than the same period last year , as demand from potential buyers continued to strengthen . Add that last jump was the highest ( in annual terms ) since November 2007.

In addition, it was reported that prices in London rose by 11.2 per cent per annum, in connection with which the average price was at around £ 541,313 . In the north- east cost of housing has risen by only 0.1 per cent , against which the average price was £ 142,372 . In Wales , house prices rose by 2.3 percent year on year , reaching £ 165,055 on average.

After several years of uncertainty , more people are thinking about moving . Over the past four weeks , the number of new homes that were for sale on the website , averaged 27,768 units , an increase of 18 percent compared with the same period last year.

Growing supply increases demand from buyers , which indicates that the number of homes sold in 2014 may be more than last year, according to Rightmove.

Japanese Yen lost scored during the Asian session positions against the dollar after data on GDP and industrial production. According to the report submitted by the Cabinet Office in Tokyo, annualized gross domestic product grew by only 1 % compared to the previous quarter . Thus, the figure fell short of the most pessimistic estimates of economists in 1.1% , while the average forecast assumes a 2.8% increase . The economic slowdown in Japan emphasizes the risks to recovery, especially before the rise of the sales tax in April to 8% from 5% . " Inevitably, the fact that the economy has weakened in the period from April to June because of the negative reaction to the demand," - said Yoshimasa Maruyama , chief economist at the Institute for Economic Research Itochu. Despite the fact that capital spending rose by the maximum value for two years, and consumption growth rose, external demand is still negatively affected GDP data . In January-March GDP growth is likely to accelerate, but some economists careful because higher wages can not support the costs after raising taxes. Relatively weak exports could also have a negative impact on growth.

The volume of industrial production in Japan grew weaker pace in December than previously assumed . This was stated in the final data , which were presented today by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. According to the report , industrial production grew by 7.1 percent in December compared with the same month last year, which was slightly less than the increase of 7.3 percent , which was reported on January 30. However, growth in December was significantly higher than in November - at the level of 4.8 percent. Seasonally adjusted industrial production rose by 0.9 percent compared with the previous month . Recall that in November industrial output fell by 0.1 percent. Preliminary data reported growth in December by 1.1 percent.

EUR / USD: during the European session, the pair fell to $ 1.3693

GBP / USD: during the European session, the pair fell to $ 1.6720

USD / JPY: during the European session, the pair rose to Y101.98

At 15:00 GMT the United States will make the Fed chief Janet Yellen .