Dollar weakens in Asian trading; held steady despite poor US data

•     Dollar weakens in Asian trading; held steady despite poor US data

–    USD falls vs most G10 currencies, mostly during Asian trading; USD held fairly steady in late European/early US trading yesterday despite many disappointing US indicators

–    Investors may be waiting to hear what Fed Chair Yellen has to say later today. Her views will be more up-to-date than FOMC minutes

•     Greek hopes dashed; no hope now?

–    Greek PM Tsipras meets with Merkel, Hollande; they agree only to continue talks!

–    Greece has only 2 weeks before a large payment to IMF is due; might not be enough time to reach agreement & get further loans approved. Seems headed for disaster.

–    Short EUR vs JPY or CHF might be the best way to play rising Greek tensions

•     BoJ stands pat, as expected

–    Its view of economy improved somewhat

–    October still seems the most likely time for any further stimulus

•     Today:

–    Eurozone:  German Ifo survey may be soft, adding to EUR weakness

–    US: CPI for April expected to dip further into deflation to -0.2% from -0.1%, while core also expected to slow 10 bps to +1.7%. Wait to hear what Yellen has to say about CPI.

–    Canada:  CPI for April

–    Speakers:  In addition to Kuroda (this morning) and Yellen, ECB President Draghi and BoE Gov. Carney speak