Foreign exchange market. European session: the British pound traded lower against the U.S. dollar despite the better-than-expected number of mortgage approvals from the U.K.

Economic calendar (GMT0):

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

00:30 Australia Construction Work Done Quarter IV -2.8% Revised From -2.2% -0.8% -0.2%

00:30 Australia Wage Price Index, q/q Quarter IV +0.6% +0.7% +0.6%

00:30 Australia Wage Price Index, y/y Quarter IV +2.6% +2.5% +2.5%

01:45 China HSBC Manufacturing PMI (Preliminary) February 49.7 49.6 50.1

07:00 Switzerland UBS Consumption Indicator January 1.42 1.24

09:30 United Kingdom BBA Mortgage Approvals January 35.8 Revised From 35.7 36.2 36.4

10:00 United Kingdom BOE Gov Mark Carney Speaks

The U.S. dollar traded mixed to higher against the most major currencies ahead the speech by the Fed Chair Janet Yellen. Yellen will testify before the House Financial Services Committee later in the day.

New home sales in the U.S. are expected to decline to 477,000 units in January from 484,000 units in December.

Yesterday's comments by the Fed Chair Janet Yellen weighed on the greenback. Yellen testified before the Senate Banking Committee in Washington on Tuesday. She said it is unlikely that the Fed will raise its interest rate in "the next couple of FOMC meetings".

The euro traded lower against the U.S. dollar as concerns over Greek bailout programme still weigh on the euro.

The European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will speak at 16:30 GMT0.

The British pound traded lower against the U.S. dollar despite the better-than-expected number of mortgage approvals from the U.K. The number of mortgage approvals increased to 36,700 in January from 35,800 in December, exceeding expectations for a rise to 36,200. December's figure was revised up from 35,700.

The Bank of England (BoE) Governor Mark Carney said nothing about the monetary policy at today's launch of the One Bank Research Agenda.

The Swiss franc traded lower against the U.S. dollar. Switzerland's UBS consumption indicator decreased to 1.24 points in January from 1.42 points in December.

EUR/USD: the currency pair fell to $1.1335

GBP/USD: the currency pair declined to $1.5466

USD/JPY: the currency pair rose to Y118.94

The most important news that are expected (GMT0):

15:00 U.S. Mortgage Delinquencies Quarter IV 5.85%

15:00 U.S. New Home Sales January 484 477

15:00 U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen Testifies

16:30 Eurozone ECB President Mario Draghi Speaks

21:45 New Zealand Trade Balance, mln January -159 -157