A string of market-moving US and European economic reports are likely to determine the Japanese yen's fate.

The US dollar remains strong this morning as the University of Michigan/Reuters consumer confidence survey reflected improvement for the second consecutive month in August.

This was the first decline in growth since the institution of the single currency, led by declines in the euro region's three biggest economies.

Records were broken and important technical levels fell with the dollar’s incredible rally last week.  However, there was no specific top-tier indicator to trigger such a monumental move.  So, is this just a remarkable false breakout or the inevitable fundamental shift behind a long-term trend change?

Non-farm payrolls for the month of June are due for release this Thursday, but with the Federal Reserve no longer looking to cut interest rates, will the degree of payroll growth actually have meaningful impact on the US dollar?

This weekend’s G8 Summit in Japan is set to focus on the matter as energy costs have crimped consumption, distorted trade figures, and fed global inflation.

Durable goods orders are expected to have fallen 1.5% in April with the stripped down ex transportation number slipping 0.5% as well.  The expectations are that the pace of consumer spending in the U.S. has slowed considerably and will weigh on demand going forward.

Existing home sales are expected to have fallen to 4.85 million as the housing market continues to deteriorate.

The British pound saw tremendous whipsaw action tonight as it was pulled in opposite directions by higher than expected inflation readings on one side and deteriorating economic data on the other.

On Thursday, May 8, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank will each announce their monetary policy decisions.