Foreign exchange market. Asian session: U.S. dollar traded broadly weaker against its major peers losing slightly

(Time/ Region/ Event/ Period/ Previous/ Forecast/ Actual

00:05 United Kingdom Gfk Consumer Confidence January -4 -2 +1

00:30 Australia Producer price index, q / q Quarter IV +0.2% +0.1%

00:30 Australia Producer price index, y/y Quarter IV +1.2% +1.1%

00:30 Australia Private Sector Credit, m/m December +0.5% +0.5%

00:30 Australia Private Sector Credit, y/y December +5.9% +5.9%

05:00 Japan Housing Starts, y/y December -14.3% -14.7%

07:00 Germany Retail sales, real adjusted December +1.0% +0.2%

07:00 Germany Retail sales, real unadjusted, y/y December -0.8% +4.0%

The U.S. dollar broadly lower against its major peers slightly trimming Thursday's gains after the mixed U.S. economic data yesterday. The number of initial jobless claims in the week ending January 24 in the U.S. fell by 43,000 to 265,000 from 308,000 in the previous week. Pending home sales in the U.S. declined 3.7% in December, missing expectations for a 0.6% increase, after a 0.6% gain in November. November's figure was revised down from a 0.8% rise. That was the biggest monthly decrease since December 2013. Today market participants await a set of U.S. data including the GDP for the fourth quarter, the Chicago Purchasing Manager's Index and the Reuters/Michigan Consumer Sentiment.

The Australian dollar traded recovered slightly from yesterday's 2% slump, as market participants expect that the central bank is likely to cut rates on February 3^rd. The aussie recently was under pressure as falling energy and commodity prices weighed. Australia's Producer Price Index for the fourth grew less compared to the previous quarter with a reading of +0.1%. On a yearly basis the index rose +1.1% compared to +1.2% in the previous quarter. Private Sector Credit was unchanged at monthly +0.5% and +5.9% on a yearly basis. All eyes are on the next RBA meeting.

New Zealand's dollar traded stronger against the greenback. Yesterday data on Building Permits showed a decline by -2.1% compared to revised +10.5% in the previous month. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand surprised investors on Thursday with a possible rate cut.

The Japanese yen traded higher against the greenback on Friday after a mixed set of data that was mostly in line with forecasts. The Japanese Unemployment Rate declined for the month of December to 3.4%. The Tokyo Consumer Price Index rose to +2.3% with a previous reading of +2.1%. Household Spending decreased by -3.4%, analysts expected a decline by -2.5%. The National CPI was unchanged at +2.4%, ex fresh food CPI rose by 2.5%, less than the expected 2.6%. Industrial Production for December rose by +1.0% in December compared to -0.6% in November, not meeting forecasts of +1.3%. Housing starts shrank by -14.7% for a 10^th straight year-on-year decline.

EUR/USD: the euro traded slightly stronger against the greenback

(time / country / index / period / previous value / forecast)

07:45 France Consumer spending December +0.4%

07:45 France Consumer spending, y/y December -1.1%

08:00 Switzerland KOF Leading Indicator January 98.7 97.8

09:30 United Kingdom Net Lending to Individuals, bln December 3.3

09:30 United Kingdom Mortgage Approvals December 59

10:00 Eurozone Unemployment Rate December 11.5% 11.5%

10:00 Eurozone Harmonized CPI, Y/Y (Preliminary) January -0.2% -0.5%

13:30 Canada GDP (m/m) November +0.3%

13:30 U.S. Employment Cost Index Quarter IV +0.7%

13:30 U.S. PCE price index, q/q Quarter IV +3.2%

13:30 U.S. PCE price index ex food, energy, q/q Quarter IV +1.4%

13:30 U.S. GDP, q/q (Preliminary) Quarter IV +5.0% +3.3%

14:45 U.S. Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index January 58.3 58.1

15:00 U.S. Reuters/Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index (Finally) January 98.2 98.1