EU session review: Dollar declines on speculation U.S. economy improving; Yen climbs on China

Data released
09:30   United Kingdom BBA Mortgage Approvals    30.0K    31.3K    30.7K   
09:30   United Kingdom Index of Services (3M/3M) (Oct)     0.6%    0.4%    0.5%

The dollar fell on speculation reports today will signal the U.S. economic recovery is gathering pace, luring investors away from the currency in favor of higher-yielding assets.
The yen gained as concern China is taking steps to cool its economy drove demand for the currency as a refuge.
The Commerce Ministry ordered local authorities to halt approval of some foreign property investments to curb speculative buying.
“It’s a risk aversion story and euro-yen is leading the way,” said Jeremy Stretch at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. “With continuing concerns about what’s going to happen in China in terms of further monetary tightening and what impact that will have, there are enough negatives out there to keep people on the defensive in what are very thin and choppy markets.”
The New Zealand dollar gained as Finance Minister Bill English said the nation’s economic expansion will accelerate next year.

EUR/USD holds within the $1.3075/$1.3180 range for two days. Today rate printed session high on $1.3150 before retreated to $1.3093.

GBP/USD tested channel resistance line at $1.5430 before weakened to $1.5370/$1.5407 range.

USD/JPY fell from Y83.50 to Y83.05. Rate tried to recover to Y83.20, but failed. Rate refreshed session lows on Y82.80.

It is a busy US calendar, starting at 1300GMT with the Building  Permits Revision but heating up at 1330GMT with Durable Goods Jobless  Claims and also Personal Income data.
Durable goods orders are forecast to fall 1.0% in November after sharp movements in the previous two months.
Initial jobless claims are expected to hold steady at a 420,000 level.
Personal income is expected to rise a modest 0.3% in November.
At 1455GMT, the Michigan Sentiment index is expected to be revised up slightly to a reading of 74.6 in December.
At 1500GMT, new home sales are expected to rise to a 304,000 annual rate in November after dipping to a near record low in October.