Last week saw the Greeks continue to headline as discussions were seen to break down repeatedly, stoking further tensions between Eurozone member officials to the point at which the Greek PM was referring to offers but the Eurozone as “blackmail”. The end result was the decision over the weekend to close Greek banks until 7 July, limiting the amount the Greeks can withdraw to €60, while the Greek stock exchange will remain closed today. The end result has been what Greece’s PM has referred to as a “humiliating” potential acceptance of the proposed austerity package, about which the Greeks have until 5 July to respond to via a public referendum. With the euro opening up 1% down this morning, the Greeks appear in the imminent position whereby a banking collapse is almost inevitable along with their Eurozone exit. Creditors are livid that the Tsipras has called for the public vote to stay or leave the commonality, whilst Eurozone ministers have withdrawn plans to lend a further €15Bn to the Greeks. It is extremely unlikely that they will come up with the required €1.6Bn IMF loan repayment by tomorrow’s deadline and are thus likely to default.

In the UK, GBP was rather muted last week with Europe hogging the limelight - events on the mainland have even pushed the UK’s talk of exiting the Eurozone to one side. In terms of data this week, we’ll see the current account balance tomorrow which gives an idea of imported/exported goods which directly related to GBP demand/value. For the rest of the week we’ll see construction, manufacturing and services PMI data towards the end of the week which are all expected to show an improvement.

In the States, strong residential building sales (the best performance month-on-month since Aug’13) showed things are looking good for the yanks. Unemployment was also seen to stabilise at 271K. Out this week we’ll see more employment data and non-farm payroll data on Wednesday. We will also probably see some positivity for the dollar as investors avoid the issues in Europe at the moment, provided no agreement comes into play to strengthen EUR.

FC Exchange is a trading name of Foreign Currency Exchange Limited. Registered office: Salisbury House, Finsbury Circus, London, EC2M 5QQ. Registered No.5452483. Authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (No.511266) under the Payment Service Regulations 2009 for the provision of payment services. HM Revenue & Customs MLR No.12215508. Copyright © 2013 Foreign Currency Exchange. All Rights Reserved.

Recommended Content


Recommended Content

Editors’ Picks

USD/JPY flat-lines below 151.50 after soft Japanese CPI data

USD/JPY flat-lines below 151.50 after soft Japanese CPI data

USD/JPY stays defensive below 151.50 after the release of a soft Japan's CPI report and mixed Industrial Production and Retail Sales data on Friday. Japanese verbal intervention also weighs on the pair amid the holiday-thinned conditions on Good Friday. US PCE inflation awaited. 

USD/JPY News

AUD/USD buyers lack vigor above 0.6500 amid Good Friday trading lull

AUD/USD buyers lack vigor above 0.6500 amid Good Friday trading lull

AUD/USD is trading listlessly above 0.6500 in the Asian session amid light trading on Good Friday. The Aussie pair shrugs off encouraging comments from China's FX regulator, as price action remains subdued ahead of the US PCE inflation data. 

AUD/USD News

Gold flirts with record highs above $2,230, all eyes on US PCE data

Gold flirts with record highs above $2,230, all eyes on US PCE data

Gold price flirts with record highs around $2,230 during the Asian session on Friday. The uptick of yellow metal is bolstered by the safe-haven flows amidst growing economic concerns and the prospect of interest rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve.

Gold News

Ripple's move above this key level could trigger nearly 50% rally for XRP

Ripple's move above this key level could trigger nearly 50% rally for XRP

Ripple price has overcome a critical resistance level and flipped into a support floor on the weekly time frame. This development happened while XRP tightly consolidated for roughly 250 days. As this coiling up comes undone, investors can expect XRP to kickstart a massive rally. 

Read more

Will they won’t they cut rates is the question of Q2?

Will they won’t they cut rates is the question of Q2?

There has been some significant push back from Fed and Bank of England members around the timing of rate cuts, and the Bank of Japan still haven’t physically intervened in the FX market to stem yen weakness although they are threatening to do so.

Read more

Majors

Cryptocurrencies

Signatures