Foreign exchange market. European session: the U.S. dollar traded higher against the most major currencies ahead of the release of the U.S. housing market data

Economic calendar (GMT0):

02:00    China          Leading Index                         April          +1.2%               +0.9%

06:00    Germany     GDP (QoQ) (Finally)                Quarter I    +0.8%  +0.8%   +0.8%

06:00    Germany     GDP (YoY) (Finally)                 Quarter I   +2.2%  +2.2%   +2.3%

08:00    Germany     IFO - Business Climate             May           111.2    111.0     110.4

08:00    Germany     IFO - Current Assessment       March        115.3    115.6     114.8

08:00    Germany     IFO - Expectations                  March        107.3    106.9     106.2

09:00    Eurozone    European Parliamentary Elections                                                       

The U.S. dollar traded higher against the most major currencies ahead of the release of the U.S. housing market data. The U.S. new home sales should rise to 426,000 units in April, from 384,000 units in March.

The euro traded lower against the U.S. dollar due to the weaker-than-expected IFO-Business Climate index for Germany. The index dropped to a 5-month low of 110.4 in May, from 111.2 in March. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 111.0. Market participants hope the further stimulus measures by the European Central Bank will be introduced in June due to recently released weak economic data in the Eurozone.

German gross domestic product climbed 0.8% in the first quarter (Q4 2013: +0.8%), meeting analysts’ expectations.

On a yearly basis, German gross domestic product rose 2.3% in the first quarter (Q4 2013: +2.2%), exceeding analysts’ expectations of a 2.2% gain.

The British pound traded lower against the U.S. dollar in the absence of any major economic reports in the U.K.

The Canadian dollar traded slightly higher against the U.S. dollar ahead of the release of the Canadian consumer price index. The consumer price index in Canada should increase 0.3% in April, from a 0.6% rise in April. The Canadian core consumer price index should climb 0.2% in April, from a 0.3% increase in March.

EUR/USD: the currency pair dropped to $1.3615

GBP/USD: the currency pair declined to $1.6828

USD/JPY: the currency pair climbed to Y101.97

The most important news that are expected (GMT0):

12:30    Canada        Consumer Price Index m / m                                   April      +0.6%  +0.3% 

12:30    Canada        Consumer price index, y/y                                       April      +1.5%                

12:30    Canada        Bank of Canada Consumer Price Index Core, m/m   April      +0.3%  +0.2% 

12:30    Canada        Bank of Canada Consumer Price Index Core, y/y     April      +1.3%                

13:00    Belgium        Business Climate                                                      March    -4.6       -4.7      

14:00    U.S.              New Home Sales                                                      April      384        426