EUR/USD
The euro fell against the dollar on Wednesday, as concerns over the prospects of a Greek default weighed ahead of a critical June 5 deadline for Athens to reach a deal with its creditors. Athens is scrambling to reach an agreement with its international lenders over economic reforms they say must be implemented before the final €7.2 billion tranche of the country's €240 billion bailout is released. Greece is due to make a €305 million payment to the IMF on June 5, but will default if a deal is not reached by then.
GBP/USD
The pound ticked up to session highs against the dollar on Wednesday, boosted by a slightly more hawkish tone in the Bank of England’s May meeting minutes. The minutes showed that the Monetary Policy Committee was unanimous in voting to keep rates on hold this month and its quantitative-easing program unchanged. The MPC voted 9-0 to keep interest rates at 0.5%. According to the minutes, two MPC members saw the decision as "finely balanced," while all members agreed that rates more likely than not to go up over the next three-year period.
USD/JPY
The Japanese yen held steady Wednesday after first quarter growth figures came in better than expected, with markets focused on events in Europe and negotiations over Greece's debt. In Japan, first quarter GDP rose 0.6% for an annualized pace of 2.4%, outstripping expectations of an 0.4% gain quarter-on-quarter and for a year-on-year pace of 1.5%. Economists expect GDP to continue growing in the second quarter. The average economist forecast for second quarter GDP is an annualized 2.26%, according to the latest monthly ESP Survey of 40 economists by the Japan Center for Economic Research conducted from April 28 to May 7. However, Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Akira Amari said after the release that weakness in the global economy remained a threat to sustained growth.
