The Euro extended losses against the Dollar in the U.S. session due to continued uncertainty revolving the Greek debt crisis and moreover its resolution, if any. A report by the troika (EU-IMF-ECB) mentioned that the next disbursement of aid to Greece cannot happen until it corrected under-financing in the country’s adjustment program. EURUSD slid another 60 pips from opening the session at 1.4621 down to 1.4565. The focus is now on Thursday’s ECB meeting and whether Trichet will signal a rate hike for July.
Sterling steadied in the U.S. session to make back losses incurred in the previous European session against the Euro and Dollar. This morning the British Pound fell after Moody’s threatened to downgrade the U.K.’s top-notch AAA ranking if growth remains weak and the UK government fails to meet its debt-cutting target. Sterling gained against a broadly weaker Euro, with EURGBP falling from 0.8931 to 0.8883. GBPUSD rose from 1.6370 to 1.6412.
The Swiss Franc was range bound all day not showing any clear direction against the Dollar. The Swissie is holding strong as a safe haven currency during these times of economic uncertainty, and has reached all times highs against the Dollar this week so there is little interest today as there is no significant news to break past USDCHF record lows. Meanwhile, Dollar’s slight comeback today has kept the Franc in check. USDCHF traded between 0.8379 and 0.8345.
The Canadian Dollar was very volatile today, especially after news that OPEC failed to reach a deal to raise oil output. Oil prices subsequently jumped and the Loonie being a commodity-linked currency rose against the greenback. The Canadian Dollar then weakened against its U.S. counterpart pressured by the fact that its main export partner, the United States, is not going to raise interest rates, and so neither will Canada because it would be damaging to the Canadian economy if it gets too far ahead of the U.S. The markets will now focus on Friday’s employment numbers for Canada, and that may affect its currency. Today’s data on Canadian housing starts were ignored despite a rise in May to slightly higher-than-expected numbers. USDCAD traded between highs of 0.9819 and lows of 0.9761.
Gold traded in a range today with no definitive direction after having peaked at a one-month high on Monday on concerns of a slow recovery in the U.S. The precious metal is generally up 5 percent in the past three weeks on poor U.S. economic data, especially a weak non-farm payrolls report last Friday. Spot gold opened the U.S. session at $1,532.94 and closed at $1,537.48 and recorded a session high of $1,542.88.
| EURUSD | USDJPY | GBPUSD | USDCHF | USDCAD | GOLD | |
| OPEN
(12:00 GMT) |
1.4621 | 79.77 | 1.6370 | 0.8365 | 0.9801 | 1532.94 |
| DAY’S HIGH | 1.4638 | 79.96 | 1.6412 | 0.8379 | 0.9819 | 1542.88 |
| DAY’S LOW | 1.4565 | 79.72 | 1.6347 | 0.8345 | 0.9761 | 1530.78 |
| CLOSE
(21:00 GMT) |
1.4569 | 79.89 | 1.6395 | 0.8359 | 0.9796 | 1537.48 |
Note: Daylight Savings Time in Effect, add 1 hour to GMT
