Foreign exchange market. European session: the British pound traded lower against the U.S. dollar on the possible Britain’s exit from the European Union

Economic calendar (GMT0):

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

00:30 Australia Wage Price Index, q/q Quarter IV 0.6% 0.6% 0.5%

00:30 Australia Wage Price Index, y/y Quarter IV 2.3% 2.3% 2.2%

00:30 Australia Construction Work Done Quarter IV -1.8% Revised From -3.6% -2% -3.6%

05:00 Japan Leading Economic Index (Finally) December 103.2 102 102.1

05:00 Japan Coincident Index (Finally) December 111.9 110.9

07:00 Switzerland UBS Consumption Indicator January 1.61 Revised From 1.62 1.66

07:45 France Consumer confidence February 97 97 95

09:30 United Kingdom BBA Mortgage Approvals January 43.66 Revised From 43.98 45.2 47.5

12:00 U.S. MBA Mortgage Applications February 8.2% -4.3%

The U.S. dollar traded mixed to higher against the most major currencies ahead of the release of the U.S. economic data. The preliminary U.S. services PMI is expected to rise to 53.5 in February from 53.2 in January.

New home sales in the U.S. are expected to decline to 520,000 units in January from 544,000 units in December.

The euro traded lower against the U.S. dollar in the absence of any major economic data from the Eurozone.

French statistical office INSEE released its consumer confidence index for France on Wednesday. French consumer confidence index fell to 95 in February from 97 in January. Analysts had expected the index to remain unchanged at 97.

The British pound traded lower against the U.S. dollar on the possible Britain's exit from the European Union.

The British Bankers' Association (BBA) released the number of mortgage approvals in the U.K. on Wednesday. The number of mortgage approvals rose to 47,509 in January from 43,660 in December, exceeding expectations for a rise to 45,200. It was the highest level since February 2014.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) released its retail sales balance data on Wednesday. The CBI retail sales balance plunged to +10% in February from +16% in January.

The Swiss franc traded mixed against the U.S. dollar. UBS released its consumption index for Switzerland on Wednesday. The UBS consumption index increased to 1.66 in January from 1.61 in December. December's figure was revised down from 1.62. The increase was driven by an improved business sentiment in the retail sector.

EUR/USD: the currency pair decreased to $1.0956

GBP/USD: the currency pair dropped to $1.3877

USD/JPY: the currency pair fell to Y111.72

The most important news that are expected (GMT0):

14:45 U.S. Services PMI (Preliminary) February 53.2 53.5

15:00 U.S. New Home Sales January 544 520

15:30 U.S. Crude Oil Inventories February 2.147 3.165

17:50 Canada BOC Deputy Governor Lawrence Schembri Speaks

18:10 United Kingdom BOE Deputy Governor for Financial Stability Jon Cunliffe speaks