Forex Major Currencies Outlook (June 23, 2015)

There have been no signs of a deal in the EU emergency meeting, which led traders to start accepting that a default might take place. Data from the US came in stronger than expected, with existing home sales climbing from an upgraded 5.09M to 5.35M versus the consensus at 5.27M. Durable goods orders data are up for release today and traders are expecting to see a 0.6% increase in the core figure and a 0.6% decline in the headline figure. A testimony by FOMC member Powell is also scheduled today.

EUR

The euro suffered a sharp selloff in the early Asian trading session as the prospect of a Greek debt default weighed on the markets. There has been no agreement made in the latest emergency meeting and all eyes and ears now turn to the EU Summit later on this week. For today, German and French PMIs are due, with improvements expected for the manufacturing sector.

GBP

The pound was also sold off at the start of the day, as traders liquidated their long positions in anticipation of more uncertainty from Greece. There have been no major reports released from the UK on Monday and MPC member Cunliffe’s speech didn’t contain any surprises. Today, the CBI industrial orders expectations index is due and an improvement from -5 to 1 might be recorded.

CHF

The franc followed in the euro’s footsteps and sold off against most of its rivals, as sentiment towards the European markets turned sour. There have been no reports out of Switzerland yesterday and none are due today, indicating that the franc might keep taking its cue from the euro.

JPY

The yen advanced against most of its rivals except for the US dollar, as risk aversion returned to the markets. Japan’s flash manufacturing PMI for June was weaker than expected since the reading fell from 50.9 to 49.9, reflecting a return to industry contraction. No other reports are due from Japan today.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls were also hurt by risk aversion in today’s trading sessions, as China showed a contraction in its HSBC flash manufacturing PMI. The reading climbed from 49.2 to 49.6 in June, still below the 50.0 mark indicating industry expansion. Australia’s CB leading index showed a 0.3% decline while the HPI printed a 1.6% gain, weaker than the estimated 2.2% increase. 

By Kate Curtis from Trader's Way