European session review: the dollar is stengthening.

A report tomorrow is forecast to show U.S. initial jobless claims declined. They fell to 425,000 last week from 436,000 the previous week, according to the median estimate of economists in a s survey before tomorrow’s data.

South Korea’s won extended earlier losses after reports of artillery fire from the North spurred demand for the refuge of the dollar. An official at President Lee Myung Bak’s office said none of the shells crossed the border into South Korean waters, and the government is examining the incident.

The won dropped 1.3 percent to 1,146.10 per dollar. The currency also weakened after the Bank of Korea said the nation’s current-account surplus was less than previously reported.

South Korea’s central bank estimated the surplus in the broad measure of trade during the first 10 months of the year was $23.17 billion from $29 billion earlier.

The dollar has gained 3.4 percent over the past month in a measure of the currencies of 10 developed nations. The euro has dropped 2.4 percent, while the yen is down 0.3 percent.

Losses in the euro were limited as Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan won the backing of lawmakers in the first votes on his 6 billion-euro ($8 billion) budget.

Irish lawmakers yesterday passed an initial series of votes on the budget in parliament. The government is under pressure to pass the legislation to secure an 85 billion-euro bailout as the fiscal squeeze threatens to prolong a slump that has seen the economy shrink 11 percent over the past three years.

German exports unexpectedly dropped in October as austerity measures across the euro region eroded demand for German goods in the country’s biggest export market, according to data from the Federal Statistics Office today.

EUR/USD the pair has tested support at $1.3200.

GBP/USD the pound is strengthening after reaching day low.
 
USD/JPY the yen is trading rangebound.


Today at  15-30 GMT EIA Crude Oil Stocks change will be released.