• USD/JPY at three-week highs as buyers look for further upside
• The dollar looks set to end the month as the weakest major currency
• Eurozone July preliminary CPI +5.3% vs +5.3% y/y expected
• Eurozone Q2 preliminary GDP +0.3% vs +0.2% q/q expected
• A little bit of this and that for the ECB today
• Germany June retail sales -0.8% vs +0.2% m/m expected
• Germany June import price index -1.6% vs -0.7% m/m expected
• Italy Q2 preliminary GDP -0.3% vs 0.0% q/q expected
• UK June mortgage approvals 54.66k vs 49.00k expected

Markets:

• AUD leads, JPY lags on the day
• European equities slightly higher; S&P 500 futures up 0.1%
• US 10-year yields down 0.6 bps to 3.962%
• Gold flat at $1,958.00
• WTI crude up 1.0% to $81.42
• Bitcoin up 0.2% to $29,391

It’s a pretty tame start to the new week, although not so much if you are a Japanese yen bull. The currency itself continues to suffer from the post-BOJ hangover, falling further today by over 100 pips.

USD/JPY was already higher in Asia around 141.70 before extending gains to 142.50 in European trading. That also comes amid a more positive risk mood in markets, recovering after an early setback in US futures – which are now higher.

The aussie and kiwi are also beneficiaries of that, aided by China stimulus news. AUD/USD is up 0.9% to 0.6705 currently and sitting at the highs for the day. Meanwhile, NZD/USD is up 0.6% to clip the 0.6200 mark.

The dollar is seen steadier across the board with just light changes against the euro, pound and franc. The ranges for the day are still rather narrow for those currency pairs, with European traders a little more guarded ahead of month-end trading later.

In terms of data, euro area core inflation remains sticky and Q2 GDP beat estimates by the slightest. But all in all, it offers up a mixed picture and one that the ECB can spin however way they would want still for now.

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.