Forex news of US trading on June 24, 2015:
- US Q1 GDP (third reading) -0.2% vs -0.2% expected
- ECB's Visco says there are currently no signs that low interest rates are creating market imbalances
- ECB's Knot says Eurozone needs to raise growth potential
- We have to complete QE program as we have promised markets - ECB's Knot
- ECB's Constancio: Eurozone nations must normalise debt ratios
- US weekly EIA crude oil inventories -4.9m vs -2.1m barrels expected
- May 2015 French jobseekers 3552k vs 3542k exp
- US sells 5-year notes at 1.710% vs 1.698% WI
Greece:
- Recap: Odds of a Greek deal are suddenly falling
- Germany cannot imagine a solution for Greece without the IMF
- IMF's Lagarde says Greek reform plan can't just be built on tax hikes
Markets:
- US 10-year yields down 3.6 bps to 2.37%
- Gold down $4 to $1174
- WTI crude oil down 75-cents to $60.25
- S&P 500 down 16 points to 2108
- NZD leads, CAD lags
What looked like a deal in Greece is slowly slipping away. The mood at the start of the week was compromise but it's turned to stubbornness and that weighed on risk trades later in the day after an upbeat start.
For the most part, the euro was sidelined. Perhaps it's an indication of how many times traders have been whipsawed on Greek headlines. Mild selling early in US trading stalled at 1.1167 and then the pair perked back up to 1.1219 but neither side of the daily range was seriously tested in US trading.
The yen crosses were where most of the action was found. USD/JPY was flat at 123.85 at the start of trading but better consumer spending in the GDP report and rising Treasury yields. The climb continued until 124.37, which was the highest since June 16. After London clocked off the tone began to shift in Greek talks. Murmurs of unhappiness turned into a chorus and suddenly sentiment shifted. It's much more noticeable in yen crosses and stocks, rather than the euro and USD/JPY gave back all its gains down to 123.85.
The pound never seems to do something for just two days in a row; it's three-day or more moves in one direction, then the other. Cable struggled for the third day as it retraces the mid-June rally unwinds. The lows extended as London closed and it 1.5667 but some dip buyers finally arrived and it rebounded to 1.5707.
USD/CAD was volatile with parts of Canada on vacation. The paid slipped to 1.2280 in Europe but it was all gains in North American trading as oil prices slid and sentiment soured. The high was 1.2420. It was the fourth day of gains, and the largest rally since June 1.
AUD/USD struggled but not quite to the same extent as CAD. Early in US trading a slide to 0.7683 from 0.7740 began. The low, however, didn't break yesterday's low of 0.7680 and that was the sign for buyers in a bounce to 0.7710.