The news flow over the extended week end has unsurprisingly been focusing on Greece as the end of another month nears and substantial payment deadlines loom. Not only will they have their monthly pension and civil servant pay packages to settle, but the next large slug back to the IMF is due on 5th June, a sum of around €300m and only a fraction of the total €1.6 billion to be repaid next month. After an impressive recovery by EURUSD all the way back above the 1.1400 level, the euro has been crashing back down to earth and is now trading back below 1.0900 at 1.0895 this morning. Investors see the mountain that Greece has to climb over the summer and are starting to become nervous as was shown not only by the sell off in the euro, but in Greek stocks that fell over 3% yesterday.
Today the focus will be on US data in the form of durable goods at 13.30 UK time, then services PMIs at 14.45 and finally consumer confidence at 15.00. With the Fed remaining consistent in saying that its decision on raising rates is data dependent, as we near the next FOMC meeting on 16/17 June, this data has the potential to push the dollar higher if it surprises to the upside.
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