Foreign exchange market. Asian session: U.S. dollar lower against the most major currencies, small gains versus the euro

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

00:00 Australia HIA New Home Sales, m/m December +2.2% -1.9%

00:30 Australia Retail Sales, M/M December +0.1% +0.3%+0.2%

00:30 Australia Retail Sales Y/Y December +4.5% +3.3%

06:45 Switzerland SECO Consumer Climate Quarter IV -11 -13 -6

07:00 Germany Factory Orders n.s.a. (YoY) December -0.4% +3.4%

07:00 Germany Factory Orders s.a. (MoM) December -2.4% +1.4% +4.2%

The U.S. dollar traded lower against the most major currencies after yesterday's gains only adding small gains against the euro as the ECB unexpectedly announced that it will not accept Greek sovereign bonds in return for funding, forcing the Greek central bank to provide billions of emergency liquidity for banks in the weeks to come.

Yesterday the Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index for the U.S. climbed to 56.7 in January from 56.5 in December, exceeding expectations for a rise to 56.6. The Private sector in the U.S. added 213,000 jobs in January, according the ADP report on Wednesday. December's figure was revised up to 253,000 jobs from a previous reading of 241,000 jobs.

The Australian dollar further recovered today after slumping more than 1% on Monday to a six-year low. Data on HIA New Home Sales came in at -1.9% for December compared to a previous reading of +2.2%. Retail Sales on a monthly basis rose less than expected by +0.2% compared to forecasts of +0.3%. In the previous month Sales rose +0.1%. Year on year Retail Sales grew at a slower pace at +3.3%, declining from +4.5% in November.

Yesterday the Peoples Bank of China decided to cut bank reserve requirements from 20% to 19.5% to encourage lending and fight off economic slwodown.

New Zealand's dollar continued to add gains against the greenback in Asian trade. The RBNZ Governor Graeme Wheeler said on Wednesday that interest rates will remain on hold "for some time".

The Japanese yen traded slightly higher against the greenback on Thursday with no major data reported.

EUR/USD: the euro traded almost flat against the greenback losing slightly

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

08:00 United Kingdom Halifax house price index January +0.9% +0.2%

08:00 United Kingdom Halifax house price index 3m Y/Y January +7.8% +7.8%

12:00 United Kingdom BoE Interest Rate Decision 0.50% 0.50%

12:00 United Kingdom Asset Purchase Facility 375 375

12:00 United Kingdom MPC Rate Statement

13:30 Canada Trade balance, billions December -0.64 -1.00

13:30 U.S. International Trade, bln December -39.0 -38.0

13:30 U.S. Initial Jobless Claims January 265 277

13:30 U.S. Nonfarm Productivity, q/q (Preliminary) Quarter IV -2.3% +0.9%

13:30 U.S. Unit Labor Costs, q/q (Preliminary) Quarter IV -1.0% +1.1%

22:30 Australia AiG Performance of Construction Index January 44.4