USD/JPY tilted higher in Asian trade to May 23 highs following earlier trade data from Japan and ahead of US inflation data, and America and China reached a trade deal with signing scheduled on Wednesday. 

As of 06:13 GMT, USD/JPY rose 0.13% to 110.09, marking eight-month highs at 110.21, with a session-low at 109.92. 

Earlier Japanese data showed current surplus shrank to 1.437 trillion yen in November, beating estimates of 1.425 trillion. 

Banking lending rose 1.8% y/y, slowing down from 2.1% in November. 

From the US, consumer prices are expected to rise 0.2%, slowing down from 0.3% in November, while expected to rise 2.4% y/y. 

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams was due to speak about the culture in financial services at a workshop hosted by the London School of Economics.

Otherwise, the US Treasury Department took China off its list of currency manipulating- countries after putting it there in August.  

The Department said China has pledged executable commitments to avoid weakening yuan and publish forex information, bolstering yuan versus dollar to six-month highs. 

Gold futures declined in Asia off March 2013 highs as the dollar index rose off early July lows following earlier Chinese data and as America and China reach a trade deal with signing scheduled on Wednesday. 

As of 04:27 GMT, gold futures due in February fell 0.64% to $1,538.80 an ounce as the dollar index edged up to 97.38. 

Earlier Chinese data showed trade surplus up to 329 billion yuan from 274 billion in November, as both exports and imports accelerated beyond estimates last month. 

Now markets await data on Chinese GDP, expected at 1.4%, slowing down from 1.5% in the third quarter. 

From the US, consumer prices are expected to rise 0.2%, slowing down from 0.3% in November, while expected to rise 2.4% y/y. 

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams was due to speak about the culture in financial services at a workshop hosted by the London School of Economics.

Otherwise, the US Treasury Department also took China off its list of currency manipulating- countries after putting it there in August.  

The Department said China has pledged executable commitments to avoid weakening yuan and publish forex information, bolstering yuan versus dollar to six-month highs. 

Asian stock indices opened the second session of the week higher in tandem with Wall Street as America and China reach a trade deal with signing scheduled on Wednesday. 

The US Treasury Department also took China off its list of currency manipulating- countries after putting it there in August.  

The Department said China has pledged executable commitments to avoid weakening yuan and publish forex information, bolstering yuan versus dollar to six-month highs. 

Japan's TOPEX rose 0.27%, while Nikkei 225 rose 0.74% to 176.24. 

China's CSI 300 rose 0.27% to 4,215.19, while Shanghai rose 0.22%. 

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.20%, while South Korea's KOSPI added 0.78% to 2,264.54. 

New Zealand's NZX 50 rose 0.52%, as Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rallied 0.64% to 6,948.00. 

The major US stock indices rose Monday, buoyed by widespread optimism about the trade deal between the US and China, which lifted Nasdaq and S&P 500 to close at their record highs.

The US Treasury Department formally revealed in its semi-annual report that it has lift its designation of China as currency manipulator, which was taken in August.

The department also stated that signing of the phase-one trade agreement with China will take place this week at the White House.

Whilst, many observers, including by former Fed chief Janet Yellen, see that signing the phase-one trade deal does not necessarily mean the end of the trade dispute, but it is a step on the right path.

The US revealed today that the deficit in the government budget rose during Q4 last year by 11.8% to $356.6 billion, when compared to the same period in 2018.

To the oil market, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell by 1.6% to close at $58.08, with a day high of $59.2 and a low of $57.9.

Brent lost 1.2% to $64.20 a barrel, and hit a high of $65.2 and low of $63.9.

As for stocks, Dow Jones rose 0.3% or 83 points to close at 28,907, and hit an intraday high 28,910 and a low 28,819.

Nasdaq added 1% or 95 points to 9,274 points, with a high of 9,274 and a low of 9,193 points.

S&P 500 rose by 0.7% or 22 points to 3,288, with a high of 3,288 and a low of 3,268.