US DOLLAR GAINS GROUND AHEAD OF BATCH OF FED SPEAKERS

• The US Dollar outperforms against most major Asian peers on Wednesday. 
• Traders are gearing up for back-to-back Fed speakers lined up.  
• The US Dollar Index trades around 105.50 and is making this week’s net performance a positive one. 

The US Dollar (USD) extends gains on Wednesday, picking up momentum against most Asian peers. Leading the decline in Asian pairs is the Japanese Yen (USD/JPY) which is breaking above 155.00 and has already erased literally half of the move that took place with the interventions from the Japanese government. Markets seem to be testing Japanese authorities again to see if they will intervene ahead of 160.00, or on the contrary, will get the chance to fully erase the decline after last week’s intervention. 

On Wednesday, All eyes will be on US Federal Reserve officials with three speakers lined up. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson will speak around 15:00 GMT in a discussion at Exploring Careers in Economics. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins will hold a speech to MIT Sloan students around 15:45 GMT. Last but not least important: Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook will discuss the Fed’s latest semi-annual Financial Stability Report around 17:30 GMT. Juicy detail: Both Fed’s Jefferson and Cook are Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voters for this year.