Forex - Yen gains after Tankan survey, IMF confirms Greece payment miss

Investing.com - The yen gained on a solid Tankan survey released Wednesday while the euro held weaker as Greece formally missed its payment to the International Monetary Fund.

USD/JPY changed hands at 122.39, down 0.09%, while AUD/USD fell 0.11% to 0.7695 following a poor manufacturing survey report.

EUR/USD eased 0.08% to 1.1134.

Japan's June quarter Tankan survey of business sentiment showed plus-15 for the diffusion index (DI) for major manufacturers, up from plus-12, while the index for major non-manufacturers came in at plus-23, higher than the plus-22 expected and up from plus-19 in March.

In Australia, the June AIGroup manufacturing index fell 9.1 points to 44.2, a two-year low. The index was at 52.3 in May.

At 1130 (0130 GMT), May building approvals data are due. A gain of 1.0% is expected, compared to a 4.4% fall in April. The RBA's commodity price index (-1.6% previous) is due at 1630 (0630 GMT).

In China, the June CFLP manufacturing and services PMI are due at 0900 Beijing time (0100 GMT). Economists are expecting the quasi-government organization to announce its headline PMI to have ticked up to 50.3 in June from 50.2 the previous month.

Then at 0945 (0145 GMT), there's the final reading of the Markit manufacturing PMI. The flash reading rose to 49.6 from May's final 49.2.

The International Monetary Fund issued the following release on Wednesday in Asia regarding Greece's missed June 30 payment to the Fund.

Mr. Gerry Rice, Director of Communications at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), made the following statement today regarding Greece's financial obligations to the IMF due today:

"I confirm that the SDR 1.2 billion repayment (about €1.5 billion) due by Greece to the IMF today has not been received. We have informed our Executive Board that Greece is now in arrears and can only receive IMF financing once the arrears are cleared.

"I can also confirm that the IMF received a request today from the Greek authorities for an extension of Greece's repayment obligation that fell due today, which will go to the IMF's Executive Board in due course."

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.03% at 95.73.

Overnight, the dollar remained broadly higher against a basket of other major currencies on Tuesday, after data showed that U.S. consumer confidence improved more than expected in June and as an almost certain default by Greece continued to support safe-haven demand.

The Conference Board reported on Tuesday that its index of consumer confidence rose to 101.4 this month from a reading of 94.6 in May, whose figure was revised from a previously reported 95.4. Analysts expected the index to rise to 97.3 in June.

Greece requested a new two-year bailout program, just hours ahead of a deadline for what looked to be an almost certain debt default by Athens.

The Greek government requested a new bailout from the European Stability Mechanism to cover the country’s financial need for the next two years, which would run alongside debt restructuring.