Economic calendar (GMT0):

(Time/ Region/ Event/ Period/ Previous/ Forecast/ Actual)

00:00 Australia Consumer Inflation Expectation February 3.6% 3.6%

00:00 China Bank holiday

00:00 Japan Bank holiday

08:15 Switzerland Consumer Price Index (MoM) January -0.4% -0.4% -0.4%

08:15 Switzerland Consumer Price Index (YoY) January -1.3% -1.3% -1.3%

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against the most major currencies ahead of the Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen's testimony before the Senate Banking Committee at 15:00 GMT. It is likely that she will repeat her yesterday's remarks. But questions could differ.

The number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. is expected to decline by 4,000 to 281,000 last week.

The euro traded higher against the U.S. dollar in the absence of any major economic reports from the Eurozone.

European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said on Thursday that inflation in the Eurozone could turn into negative territory in the first half of 2016 but prices are expected to climb in the second half. He noted that there was no deflationary risk in the Eurozone.

The British pound traded lower against the U.S. dollar in the absence of any major economic reports from the U.K.

The Canadian dollar traded mixed against the U.S. dollar ahead of the release of the Canadian economic data. Canada's new housing price index is expected to rise 0.2% in December, after a 0.2% gain in November.

The Swiss franc traded mixed against the U.S. dollar. The Swiss Federal Statistics Office released its consumer inflation data on Thursday. Switzerland's consumer price index fell 0.4% in January, in line with expectations, after a 0.4% decrease in December.

The decline was mainly driven by lower prices for clothing and petroleum products.

On a yearly basis, Switzerland's consumer price index remained unchanged at -1.3% in January, in line with forecasts.

EUR/USD: the currency pair rose to $1.1368

GBP/USD: the currency pair fell to $1.4384

USD/JPY: the currency pair traded mixed

The most important news that are expected (GMT0):

13:30 Canada New Housing Price Index, MoM December 0.2% 0.2%

13:30 U.S. Initial Jobless Claims February 285 281

15:00 U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen Testifies

22:30 Australia RBA's Governor Glenn Stevens Speech