The dollar and the yen strengthened after Japan said that the trade deficit in July was more than expected, underlining the fragility of the global economy and increased demand for safe assets.

The U.S. dollar rose after the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Charles Evans described the weakening of global trade, as "terrible."

The euro fell against the dollar, as the Prime Minister of Luxembourg Jean-Claude Juncker, who goes to Greece to discuss a plan to save the country. Also to reduce impact of speculation that Germany will support Greece in fighting the debt crisis.

The pound rose against the euro ahead of the report this week, which will be able to show that the UK economy fell by less than previously estimated in the second quarter. Sterling strengthened against most of its 16 major counterparts. Yesterday it fell to its lowest level in two weeks against the euro.

The Australian dollar fell, as the decline in stock markets eroded demand for higher-yielding assets.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major currencies, rose 0.1 percent to 81.942.

EUR/USD: Trading in the pair shows a slight decrease, and is now trading near the support line at $ 1.2442

GBP/USD: pair rose sharply to a maximum of $ 1.5815 session, and then declined slightly and now stands at $ 1.5800

USD/JPY: the course in mid-session trading in a narrow range

Basic data protection will be presented in the second half of the day. At 12:30 GMT, there are data on retail sales in Canada in June. Further, at 14:00 GMT followed by statistics on the U.S. housing market - sales in the secondary market in July. The main event will be the publication of the American session minutes of the last meeting of the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve, which is scheduled for 18:00 GMT.