The euro rose against the dollar, having played with most of the previously lost positions, which was due to comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Fed Chairman Bernanke said that the course program of bond purchases is not predetermined. From the comments, it became clear that folding is expected, although he added that the Fed intends to keep policy highly accommodative for the foreseeable future. The program of bond purchases is flexible and will respond to the reports.

During the question and answer session, Bernanke said that the Committee is supported in its quest to use the 7% rate of unemployment as an indicator of recovery in the economy that the Fed must see before you decide to end the program.

He stressed, however, that 7% is not a goal for the Fed, but rather "the exponent of labor market recovery, which we want to see."

Also, the Fed chief said that the U.S. is in a difficult financial situation, but the markets have begun to understand how the Fed says. He said that monetary policy is too focused on the short term.

The cost of the Canadian dollar declined significantly against its U.S. counterpart, which followed immediately after the announcement of the Bank of Canada interest rates. As expected, the central bank left interest rates unchanged - at 1.0%. This level of BC commented on the level of a "substantial fiscal stimulus measures that are currently in force, are appropriate to the situation." The Bank of Canada also confirmed that total and core inflation expected to be low in the near future, before it is essentially grow to 2% by mid-2015, as the economy will return to full use of resources, and inflation expectations remain subdued.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada raised its GDP forecast for 2013 to 1.8% from 1.5%, and lowered its forecast for 2014 to 2.7% from 2.8%. We also add that the Bank of Canada lowered its forecast for GDP in the 2nd quarter to 1%, and raised its forecast for the third quarter to 3.8%

Also contributed to the drop in currency declaration governor of the Bank of Canada runners who reported that economic growth in Canada is expected to be "uneven". According to his estimates, the annual GDP growth of 1.8% in 2013 and 2.8% in 2014 and 2015. Furthermore, he added that demand from developing economies is growing. He also expressed his optimism about the prospects for Canadian exporters. In his view, the main domestic risk - the "imbalances in the household sector."

The British pound rose against the dollar after strong labor market data and the minutes of the last meeting of the Bank of England. Also in the course of trade was influenced by comments of Fed Bernanke, who first dropped the value of the currency, and then brought her back to their former positions.

As for the data, is to provide a report from the National Statistics Agency, which showed that in June, the number of unemployed Britons fell by 21.2 million versus 16.2 million a month earlier. It was the strongest decline since June 2010. The number of applications for benefits totaled 1.48 million analysts expected a drop of 8 thousand unemployment rate fell to 4.4% from 4.5% previously, while analysts had expected the index to remain unchanged. The ILO unemployment rate in May remained at 7.8% in line with expectations. Average earnings excluding bonuses rose by 1% versus 0.9% previously forecast and 1.1%. Earnings including bonuses rose by 1.7% vs. 1.3% forecast of 1.4%.

We also add that the protocols presented today showed that all nine members of the monetary policy of the Bank of England in July voted to keep unchanged the existing program to stimulate the economy. At the same time, within the committee remained disagreement over the need for additional incentives. At the first meeting of the Committee on Monetary Policy, chaired by Mark Carney, all nine members of the committee decided not to change the program of buying government bonds. Such absolute unanimity was observed for the first time since October 2012. However, some committee members see the need to increase incentives. They want to understand what tools, in addition to asset purchases, it will be possible to apply under the direction of Carney to boost the economy.

European stocks rose, rebounding from their biggest drop in more than a week, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said that the pace of the recovery will determine when the central bank reduces its asset purchases.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.6 percent to 297.03 at 4:30 p.m. in London, after earlier falling as much as 0.6 percent. The gauge slipped from its highest level in almost six weeks yesterday. It has still rallied 6.3 percent this year.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke begins his two-day semi-annual monetary-policy report to Congress today. He said that the Fed will extend the time period for asset purchases if the outlook for employment worsens, according to prepared testimony. The central bank will reduce its bond buying if the economy improves faster than expected, he added.

U.S. housing starts unexpectedly dropped 9.9 percent in June to 836,000 from a revised 928,000 rate in May, a report from the Commerce Department showed. The median estimate of economists had called for the measure to climb to 960,000. A separate release showed that building permits also unexpectedly fell last month.

In the U.K., all nine members of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted against expanding the bond-buying program, according to the minutes of the July 3-4 meeting published today. MPC members Paul Fisher and David Miles dropped their call to expand asset purchases by 25 billion pounds ($38 billion) at Governor Mark Carney’s first meeting. The central bank will publish a review next month of how to steer investors’ expectations.

National benchmark indexes advanced in 15 of the 18 western-European markets.

FTSE 100 6,571.93 +15.58 +0.24% CAC 40 3,872.02 +20.99 +0.55% DAX 8,254.72 +53.67 +0.65%

BHP Billiton, the world’s biggest mining company, gained 2.2 percent to 1,872 pence after setting a 13th annual output record. Iron-ore production rose to 47.7 million metric tons in the three months ended June 30, from 40.9 million tons a year earlier, Melbourne-based BHP said in a statement.

A gauge of commodity producers on the Stoxx 600 rose for a third day, its longest winning streak in two months. Rio Tinto Group and Glencore Xstrata Plc advanced 1.4 percent to 2,922.5 pence and 2.8 percent to 272 pence, respectively.

Thomas Cook increased 2.7 percent to 146.5 pence as UBS raised its rating on the stock to buy from neutral and added the travel operator to its “most preferred list.” The brokerage said that 2013 has provided “an almost perfect environment for tour operators.”

Unilever, which makes Dove soap, dropped 1.6 percent to 2,756 pence in London trading. Credit Suisse cut its rating on the stock to underperform, similar to a sell recommendation, saying the stock is expensive.

Smiths Group Plc dropped 1 percent to 1,377 pence. The maker of security scanners predicted that operating profit will fall short of its previous forecast by as much as 15 million pounds for the full-year ending in July. The company also said it will make provisions for legal disputes and three contracts at its Smiths Detection unit.

Prices for WTI crude oil rose slightly, after a government report showed that the amount of oil reserves in the U.S. fell more than expected, and the demand for gasoline has decreased. As for the cost of oil brand Brent, its price has dropped significantly, showing a loss of $ 1.

According to the report from the Energy Information Administration, following a seven-day period that ended on July 12, crude oil inventories in the U.S. fell by 6,902 million barrels to 367.016 million barrels level. It is worth noting that according to the average forecasts of experts, the reserves had to be down only by 1.9 million barrels, after a decline of 9.9 million over the previous seven days.

The data also showed that due to lower gasoline consumption by 570,000 barrels per day, or 6.1% - to 8.73 million barrels per day (the biggest drop since January 7, 2005), gasoline stocks increased by 3.055 million barrels - up 224.083 million barrels. At the same time, it became known that the U.S. distillate stocks, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 3.87 million barrels - up to 127.679 million barrels and refinery utilization in the United States amounted to 92.8% against 92.4% previous week

We also recall that yesterday, the American Petroleum Institute said crude oil reserves fell by 2.6 million barrels, gasoline inventories rose by 2.553 million barrels, distillate stocks rose by 3.821 million barrels and refinery capacity utilization rose from 92.1% to 92.5%.

Also, the dynamics of today's trading was influenced speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who said that the pace of bond purchases was not on course. Meanwhile, he reiterated that the Fed could start reducing monthly purchases of bonds by the end of this year.

The cost of the August futures on U.S. light crude oil WTI (Light Sweet Crude Oil) rose to 106.15 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

August futures price for North Sea Brent crude oil mixture fell to $ 108.47 a barrel on the London exchange ICE Futures Europe.

Gold prices fell sharply, dropping at the same time to the $ 1277 that was related to statements by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who said that the U.S. central bank still expects minimize their stimulus measures later this year, but, nevertheless, there is likely to change. We also add that during the question and answer session, Bernanke said that the U.S. is in a difficult financial situation, the complexity is communication with the markets, but they have begun to understand the thinking of the Fed. He said that the financial policy is only for the short term.

It is worth noting that this year the price of gold has fallen by nearly 25% on fears that the Fed will limit the terms of quantitative easing, which brought gold to record highs in recent years, as well as put pressure on long-term interest rates, while as inflation fears stoked. Add that earlier this year, the Fed said it may reduce the bond-buying program, but more dovish tone Bernanke later led to a sharp fall in the dollar and a rebound in gold.

Gold reached a three-week high last Thursday, but have not been able to exceed the level of $ 1,300 per ounce. Physical demand also declined as prices rebounded from recent lows. Buying interest from China has also been reduced in the last few days, which was associated with a fall in Shanghai premiums to about $ 25 per ounce to $ 36 last week.

The outflow of gold exchange-traded funds, which issue securities backed by physical bullion, continued on Tuesday. The largest fund SPDR Gold Trust reported a fall of 1.5 tons of supplies, which increased the loss for the year to the level of 413 tons.

The cost of the August gold futures on COMEX today dropped to $ 1282.80 per ounce.

EUR/USD $1.3000, $1.3055, $1.3070, $1.3100, $1.3175, $1.3200

USD/JPY Y98.50, Y99.00, Y99.25, Y99.30, Y99.50, Y100.00, Y100.25

EUR/JPY Y131.00

GBP/USD $1.5100, $1.5150, $1.5270

USD/CHF Chf0.9500(large)

AUD/USD $0.9050, $0.9200, $0.9300

AUD/JPY Y92.75

USD/CAD C$1.0325, C$1.0400, C$1.0490

U.S. stock futures rose as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the pace of bond purchases was not on a preset course.

Global Stocks:

Nikkei  14,615.04 +15.92 +0.11%

Hang Seng 21,371.87 +59.49 +0.28%

Shanghai Composite 2,044.92 -20.80 -1.01%

FTSE  6,583.79 +27.44 +0.42%

CAC  3,873.6 +22.57 +0.59%

DAX 8,247.55 +46.50 +0.57%

Crude oil $105.77 -0.22%

Gold $1290.30 -0.01%

Upgrades:

Downgrades:

American Express (AXP) downgraded from Buy to Neutral at Buckingham Research

Other:

Apple (AAPL) reiterated with Buy at Argus, target lowered from $600 to $540

Goldman Sachs (GS) reiterated with Outperform at FBR Capital, target raised from $165 to $184

Switzerland's economic confidence improved slightly in July after staying stable in the previous month, a monthly survey by the Centre for European Economic Research in cooperation with Credit Suisse showed Wednesday.

The ZEW-CS Indicator of economic expectations advanced to 4.8 points in July from 2.2 points in June. The indicator, which reflects expectations of surveyed financial market experts regarding economic development in Switzerland on a six-month time horizon, has now remained at a broadly stable level for the last three months.

In July, a higher number of analysts said they expect economic conditions to remain unchanged in the next six months. Their share increased by 8.4 percentage points month-on-month to 71.4 percent in July.

At the same time, the indicator of experts' views of the current economic situation improved notably in July, by 4.5 points from the previous month to 26.2 points.

Meanwhile, experts' views of the current economic situation in the euro area turned more pessimistic, with the share of pessimists increasing by 4.9 percentage points from the previous month to 80.5 percent in July. The survey further indicated that expectations for the stock markets in Switzerland, Europe and the US were positive in July, with the respective indicators hovering well above their long-term averages.

Housing starts in the U.S. unexpectedly showed a notable decrease in the month of June, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.

The report showed that housing starts tumbled 9.9 percent to an annual rate of 836,000 in June from the revised May estimate of 928,000.

The steep drop came as a surprise to economists, who had expected housing starts to climb to an annual rate of 951,000 from the 914,000 originally reported for the previous month.

The Commerce Department also said building permits fell 7.5 percent to an annual rate of 911,000 in June from the revised May rate of 985,000.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to rise to an annual rate of 990,000 from the 974,000 originally reported for May.

08:30 United Kingdom ILO Unemployment Rate May 7.8% 7.8% 7.8%

08:30 United Kingdom Average Earnings, 3m/y May +1.3% +1.4% +1.7%

08:30 United Kingdom Average earnings ex bonuses, 3 m/y May +0.9% +1.1% +1.0%

08:30 United Kingdom Bank of England Minutes

08:30 United Kingdom Claimant count June -8.6 -7.9 -21.2

08:30 United Kingdom Claimant Count Rate June 4.5% 4.5% 4.4%

09:00 Eurozone Construction Output, m/m May +2.0% -0.3%

09:00 Eurozone Construction Output, y/y May -6.6% -5.1%

09:00 Switzerland Credit Suisse ZEW Survey (Expectations) July 2.2 4.8

Euro traded moderately lower against the U.S. dollar in anticipation of speeches by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke (Wednesday before the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and on the Thursday before the Senate Committee on Banking). Experts note that the probability that Bernanke will surprise the market is low - most likely the option of maintaining QE in the previous volumes will be confirmed, but such an alignment is already embedded in the dynamics of the EUR / USD and tangible drawdown dollar on the news seems to be unlikely.

The pressure on the single currency had data on production in the construction sector. In May, the volume of production in the construction sector of the euro area fell by 0.3% compared to growth of 2% a month earlier, as reported by the agency Eurostat. In the annual comparison figure fell by 5.1% against a decline of 6.6% in the previous month.

The British pound rose against the dollar after strong labor market data and the minutes of the last meeting of the Bank of England.

In June, the number of unemployed Britons fell by 21.2 million against 16.2 million the previous month, as reported by the national statistics agency. It was the strongest decline since June 2010. The number of applications for benefits totaled 1.48 million analysts expected a drop of 8 thousand unemployment rate fell to 4.4% from 4.5% previously, while analysts had expected the index to remain unchanged. The ILO unemployment rate in May remained at 7.8% in line with expectations. Average earnings excluding bonuses rose by 1% versus 0.9% previously forecast and 1.1%. Earnings including bonuses rose by 1.7% vs. 1.3% forecast of 1.4%.

All nine members of the monetary policy of the Bank of England in July voted to keep unchanged the existing program to stimulate the economy. At the same time, within the committee remained disagreement over the need for additional incentives. At the first meeting of the Committee on Monetary Policy, chaired by Mark Carney, all nine members of the committee decided not to change the program of buying government bonds. Such absolute unanimity was observed for the first time since October 2012. However, some committee members see the need to increase incentives. They want to understand what tools, in addition to asset purchases, it will be possible to apply under the direction of Carney to boost the economy.

EUR / USD: during the European session, the pair is trading in the range of $ 1.3121 - $ 1.3166

GBP / USD: during the European session, the pair rose to $ 1.52455

USD / JPY: during the European session, the pair rose to Y99.83

At 12:30 GMT in Canada will the volume of transactions with foreign securities in May. U.S. at 12:30 GMT will publish the volume of building permits issued, the number of Housing Starts in June. At 14:00 GMT we will know the decision of the Bank of Canada Interest Rate and the accompanying statement will be made of the Bank of Canada. At 14:00 GMT the chairman of Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke testifies. At 14:30 GMT will be the publication of the report of the Bank of Canada's Monetary Policy for the 3rd quarter. At 15:15 GMT will be a press conference by the Bank of Canada. At 16:30 GMT a speech FOMC member Sarah Bloom Raskin. At 18:00 GMT the United States will publish economic survey of the Fed's regional "Beige Book."

EUR/USD

Offers $1.3250/60, $1.3225/30, $1.3170-90

Bids $1.3110/00, $1.3080, $1.3060/50, $1.3020

GBP/USD

Offers $1.5340/50, $1.5295/305, $1.5280/85, $1.5250/60

Bids $1.5150, $1.5125/15, $1.5080, $1.5060/45

AUD/USD

Offers $0.9350, $0.9335/40,  $0.9300,  $0.9280, $0.9255/60, $0.9225/30

Bids $0.9185/80, $0.9150, $0.9120, $0.9110/00, $0.9050

EUR/GBP

Offers stg0.8845/50, stg0.8830/35, stg0.8790/95, stg0.8760-70, stg0.8740/45

Bids stg0.8630, stg0.8615-00, stg0.8575/65

EUR/JPY

Offers Y132.50, Y132.20, Y132.00, Y131.50

Bids Y130.50/45, Y130.05/00, Y129.50

USD/JPY

Offers Y100.75/80, Y100.45/50, Y100.05/10, Y100.00

Bids Y99.30/25, Y99.00, Y98.80, Y98.55/50

European stocks fell, extending their biggest drop in more than a week, after minutes showed that Bank of England policy makers voted unanimously against further bond purchases at their meeting earlier this month. U.S. index futures dropped and Asian shares were little changed.

In the U.S., Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will begin his two-day semi-annual monetary-policy report to Congress today. He may face questions from lawmakers on how quickly the central bank plans to scale back its monthly asset purchases. U.S. equity benchmarks rose to records and European stocks rallied last week after the Fed chairman said that the U.S. economy will continue to need stimulus measures.

L’Oreal SA declined 3.8 percent after posting second-quarter sales growth that missed analysts’ estimates.

BHP Billiton Ltd. rose 1 percent after saying quarterly iron-ore output jumped 17 percent.

FTSE 100 6,522.07 -34.28 -0.52%

CAC 40 3,829.68 -21.35 -0.55%

DAX 8,152.43 -48.62 -0.59%

Eurozone construction output fell 0.3 percent month-on-month in May, following a 1 percent rise in April, Eurostat reported Wednesday.

On a yearly basis, construction output declined 5.1 percent, but slower than the 6.8 percent drop seen in April.

Building construction decreased 0.6 percent on month after rising 0.5 percent in the prior month. At the same time, growth in civil engineering slowed sharply to 0.1 percent from 4.3 percent.

In the EU27, production in the construction sector dropped 0.2 percent month-on-month and by 5.1 percent annually.

The number of people claiming jobless allowance in the UK declined more than expected in June, the latest data from the Office for National Statistics showed Wednesday.

The claimant count for June was 1.48 million, down 21,200 from May. Economists expected the figure to fall by 8,000. The claimant count rate edged down to 4.4 percent in June from 4.5 percent in May.

The ILO unemployment rate was 7.8 percent in the March to May period. This was in line with forecasts.

Total pay, including bonus, rose 1.7 percent in March-May compared with the same period in 2012. This was faster than the expected 1.4 percent gain. Regular pay rose 1 percent over the same period.

EUR/USD $1.3000, $1.3055, $1.3070, $1.3100, $1.3175, $1.3200

USD/JPY Y98.50, Y99.00, Y99.25, Y99.50, Y100.00, Y100.25

EUR/JPY Y131.00

GBP/USD $1.4875, $1.5000, $1.5100, $1.5150

USD/CHF Chf0.9500(large)

AUD/USD $0.9050, $0.9200

USD/CAD C$1.0400, C$1.0490

Most Asian stocks rose, with a regional benchmark index extending gains from a seven-week high, as material producers advanced ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s address to the U.S. Congress today.

Nikkei 225 14,615.04 +15.92 +0.11%

Hang Seng 21,349.65 +37.27 +0.17%

S&P/ASX 200 4,981.68 -4.33 -0.09%

Shanghai Composite 2,044.92 -20.80 -1.01%

BHP Billiton Ltd. added 2.3 percent in Sydney after the world’s biggest mining company said fourth-quarter iron-ore production gained 17 percent.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. jumped 11 percent in Tokyo on a report the carmaker will pay its first dividend in 16 years.

China Resources Power Holdings Co. slumped 9.6 percent after a Xinhua News Agency reporter said the power generator and the chairman of its state-owned parent intentionally overpaid for a 2010 acquisition.

00:30 Australia Leading Index May +0.7% Revised From +0.6% +0.2%

02:00 China Leading Index June +0.3% +0.1%

The yen fell after the Bank of Japan released minutes of its June 10-11 policy meeting today, in which one board member said it’s appropriate for the central bank to limit the period of its monetary stimulus to about two years and review it thereafter. If expectations rise in markets that the measures will continue for a longer period or “extreme” additional steps will be implemented, that would lead to economic instability in the medium to long term, the member said.

The dollar rose against a majority of its peers with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke due to testify to Congress today. The Fed purchases $85 billion of Treasuries and mortgage debt each month as part of its latest round of quantitative easing to cap borrowing costs, a program that tends to debase the currency.

The Bloomberg Dollar Index snapped a two-day decline before U.S. data that may show housing starts increased for a second month, adding to the case for the Federal Open Market Committee to slow monetary stimulus. The U.S. Commerce Department is likely to say today that housing starts climbed 5 percent in June from a month earlier to a 960,000 annualized rate, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

The pound fell toward a four-month low against the euro before the Bank of England releases minutes of its July 3-4 policy meeting today amid speculation Governor Mark Carney will tie central bank guidance on interest rates to economic developments.

EUR / USD: during the Asian session the pair fell to $ 1.3130

GBP / USD: during the Asian session the pair fell to $ 1.5105

USD / JPY: during the Asian session the pair rose to Y99.55

Wednesday sees a full calendar on both sides of the Atlantic, but  without doubt, the main focus will be on Fed Chair Bernanke's testimony on Capitol Hill. The European data calendar kicks off at 0700GMT, with the release of the May industrial orders data. At 0900GMT, the Euro area May construction output data will be published. At the same time, German Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Steffen is set to brief on the upcoming trip of German FinMin Wolfgang Schaeuble to Athens and on upcoming G20 Moscow meet.

Change % Change Last

GOLD 1,291.90 8.40 0.65%

OIL (WTI) 105.74 -0.58 -0.55%

Nikkei 225 14,599.12 92,87 0,64%

Hang Seng 21,329.48 26,17 0,12%

S & P / ASX 200 4,986.02 4,91 0,10%

Shanghai Composite 2,065.72 6,33 0,31%

FTSE 100 6,566.87 -19.24 -0.29%

CAC 40 3,851.91 -26.67 -0.69%

DAX 8,205.63 -29.18 -0.35%

Dow -30.79 15,453.47 -0.20%

Nasdaq -8.99 3,598.50 -0.25%

S&P -6.25 1,676.25 -0.37%

(pare/closed(00:00 GMT +02:00)/change, %)

EUR/USD $1,3153 +0,66%

GBP/USD $1,5147 +0,30%

USD/CHF Chf0,9397 -0,89%

USD/JPY Y99,15 -0,83%

EUR/JPY Y130,43 -0,12%

GBP/JPY Y150,18 -0,49%

AUD/USD $0,9240 +1,47%

NZD/USD $0,7887 +0,91%

USD/CAD C$1,0375 -0,51%

00:30 Australia Leading Index May +0.7% Revised From +0.6% +0.2%

02:00 China Leading Index June +0.3% +0.1%

08:30 United Kingdom ILO Unemployment Rate May 7.8% 7.8%

08:30 United Kingdom Average Earnings, 3m/y May +1.3% +1.4%

08:30 United Kingdom Average earnings ex bonuses, 3 m/y May +0.9% +1.1%

08:30 United Kingdom Bank of England Minutes

08:30 United Kingdom Claimant count June -8.6 -7.9

08:30 United Kingdom Claimant Count Rate June 4.5% 4.5%

09:00 Eurozone Construction Output, m/m May +2.0%

09:00 Eurozone Construction Output, y/y May -6.6%

09:00 Switzerland Credit Suisse ZEW Survey (Expectations) July 2.2

12:30 Canada Foreign Securities Purchases May 14.91 10.23

12:30 U.S. Building Permits, mln June 0.974 1.000

12:30 U.S. Housing Starts, mln June 0.914 0.950

14:00 Canada Bank of Canada Rate 1.00% 1.00%

14:00 Canada BOC Rate Statement

14:00 U.S. Fed Chairman Bernanke Testifies

14:30 Canada Bank of Canada Monetary Policy Report

14:30 Canada BOC Press Conference

14:30 U.S. Crude Oil Inventories July -9.9

16:30 U.S. FOMC Member Raskin Speaks

18:00 U.S. Fed's Beige Book July