The Euro settled down in the European session after a downturn due to news that Greek aid will be delayed by the troika until Greece puts in place some austerity measures and begins privatization. EURUSD traded in a range for most of the session as markets were in a wait-and-see mode until the Single Currency was given a boost late in the session after positive comments by Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn and Eurogroup President Juncker made this afternoon giving optimism that the next aid tranche will be disbursed soon and Eurozone officials will soon agree on a program that will prevent a default (which they call the Vienna style program). EURUSD traded between 1.4352 and 1.4190 then rose to 1.4273 after those comments.
Sterling rebounded against the Dollar to gain 87 pips in European trading hours rising to 1.6194 from the open at 1.6120. The rise in GBPUSD was aided by traders wanting to short cover their positions. Meanwhile the Pound also gained against the Euro today but not on its own merit, mainly due to Euro weakness based on Greek debt woes. EURGBP change course towards the end of the European session after the positive comments from Eurozone officials, Jean-Claude Juncker and Olli Rehn.
The Swiss Franc Franc continues to benefit from its safe haven appeal on news of a delay by Euro zone finance ministers regarding a final decision over emergency loans for Greece. This boosted the currency against the Dollar, causing USDCHD to drop to 0.8450 from 0.8499.
The Japanese yen fell against the U.S. dollar for most of the day over two sessions after data indicated that Japanese exports slumped in May. Japan posted a 853.7 billion Yen trade deficit in May, the biggest in nearly two and a half years as the impact of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami continues to inhibit a recovery in the nation’s economy. USDJPY rose to a session high of 80.35.
| EURUSD | GBPUSD | EURGBP | USDCHF | USDJPY | |
| OPEN
(07:00 GMT) |
1.4228 | 1.6120 | 0.824 | 0.8496 | 80.21 |
| DAY’S HIGH | 1.4273 | 1.6194 | 0.8826 | 0.8499 | 80.35 |
| DAY’S LOW | 1.4190 | 1.6108 | 0.8789 | 0.8448 | 80.01 |
| CLOSE
(14:00 GMT) |
1.4261 | 1.6180 | 0.8812 | 0.8454 | 80.22 |
Note: Daylight Saving Time in effect for GMT
