No Dollar Direction From Bernanke

The market was looking for clarity from Bernanke but the Chairman said he's waiting for clarity from the data. On the day, the pound led while the yen lagged. Chinese property prices and Japanese department store sales are the highlights in Asia.

The takeaway continues to be that economic data is extremely important in the coming weeks and months. Look for larger-than-normal dollar moves on every releases.

In Canada, the BOC downgraded foreign growth forecasts and changed its tone on removing stimulus in Poloz's first decision as leader. His comments left considerable uncertainty, however, as he talked about potential upside risks in housing and strong private sector demand from the US – both would lead to sooner rate hikes.

In the upcoming session, a series of data points from Australia and New Zealand will keep traders on their toes but the only consequential releases are later from China and Japan. First, at 0130 GMT, China releases data on June property prices. With government tightening measures in place, there is a risk of a surprise drop.

Later, the focus turns to Japan with department store sales at 0530 GMT. Abenomics has been a modest success so far and the Nikkei has quietly risen 17% from the June lows.