Asian session: The yen climbed

05:00 Japan Eco Watchers Survey: Current February 54.7 54.3 53.0

05:00 Japan Eco Watchers Survey: Outlook February 49.0 40.0

A gauge of expected future market swings was near the lowest in 15 months as traders assess the rising tension between Ukraine and Russia.

The Swiss franc was near the strongest level in more than two years as Ukraine began military drills while Russian forces tightened their hold on the Crimean peninsula. Ukraine’s armed forces are testing the combat-readiness of troops, the Defense Ministry said today on its website, reiterating the government’s desire for a peaceful end to the standoff in the former Soviet republic’s eastern provinces.

The yen was little changed after the Bank of Japan reiterated at the end of a two-day policy meeting that it will continue its unprecedented monetary stimulus to stoke inflation. The BOJ kept a pledge to expand the monetary base at a pace of 60 trillion to 70 trillion yen ($677 billion) per year, the central bank said in a statement in Tokyo today, in line with all but one of 34 forecasts in a Bloomberg News poll. The bank lowered its view of exports and lifted its assessments of industrial output and investment.

Australia’s dollar dropped against most major peers after China, the nation’s biggest trade partner, said March 8 exports slid. China’s exports unexpectedly fell 18.1 percent in February from a year earlier, customs data showed March 8, compared with a forecast for an increase of 7.5 percent in a Bloomberg News survey. Imports rose 10.1 percent, leaving a trade deficit of $23 billion, the report showed.

EUR / USD: during the Asian session, the pair traded in the range of $ 1.3860-80 

GBP / USD: during the Asian session, the pair traded in the range of $ 1.6635-45 

USD / JPY: on Asian session the pair traded in the range of Y103.20-45

There is a full calendar on both sides of the Atlantic Tuesday, although data is largely second tier. There is also a meeting of the Ecofin Group, with EU finance ministers  athering in Brussels for a breakfast meeting. The calendar gets underway at 0700GMT, with the release of the German January trade balance and the fourth quarter labour cost data. Overall exports are seen higher by 1.5% on month after a fall of 1% in December. At 0900GMT, the Italian fourth quarter GDP data will cross the wires, seen up 0.1% on quarter, down 0.8% on year.