The Dollar experienced mix trading yesterday, climbing against the Yen but falling against the EUR with traders anticipating both Japanese and U.S. interest rate decisions and a bloc of economic data. The economic releases to come may be a positive for the USD.

Yesterday’s release of U.S. existing home sales showed a sharp drop during the month of December. Traders reacted by selling the Dollar and buying the EUR instead. However, by the end of the day, the EUR/USD was relatively unchanged from its opening price as traders are tentative to place large bets on the direction of currencies before the release of both Japanese and American interest rate decisions.

Near the end of the day, the EUR/USD was trading at 1.4155 from an opening price of 1.4166. The Cable was at 1.6245, after starting the day at 1.6111.

The large amount of economic news and data releases that are expected this week is causing trader hesitation. Perhaps the most important event will be the release of the Federal Open Market Committee Statement on Wednesday. Economists are expecting the Fed to hold interest rates steady and to continue with the same language regarding interest rates staying low for a considerable time period.

Also due to be released today is the CB Consumer Confidence. The survey of household’s opinion typically has a large impact on the daily trend of the EUR/USD. A better than expected reading from the survey could be a boost for the USD, sending the pair lower, to the 1.4040 support line.