Another step forward for Greece
All it took was confirmation that U.S. Existing Home Sales reached an eight-year high in June and that crude oil inventories were higher than expected to send the greenback soaring again. Early in the day, the U.S. dollar had already begun to rise against the other major currencies and this news helped drive it up by close to a cent against the loonie. Meanwhile, crude oil fell below $50 a barrel, meaning that at this point, it’s hard to argue against the concept of an eventual further slide for the CAD, which plumbed depths not seen since March 2009 yesterday.
For the moment, markets have reversed course, with the approval of a second round of reforms by the Greek parliament sending the euro upward and bringing other currencies along in its wake. It remains to be seen whether the single currency is able to hold onto its gains given the substantial volatility of the situation.
Elsewhere, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand dropped its key rate by 25 bps as expected yesterday and promised that further cuts were in the cards. This morning, Canadian Retail Sales for May will be announced along with the usual Initial Jobless Claims data south of the border.
