Forex Major Currencies Outlook (June 24, 2016)

Both the initial jobless claims and flash manufacturing PMI beat expectations while new home sales fell short. Durable goods orders data are due today and the headline figure could post a 0.5% drop while the core figure could print a 0.1% increase. Still, risk sentiment might be the bigger driver of price action for dollar pairs for the rest of the week. 

EUR 

The euro suffered sharp declines as the EU referendum results appear to be hinting at a victory for the "leave" camp. This could bring a significant amount of uncertainty to the entire region, perhaps even convincing the ECB to ease monetary policy. Euro zone flash PMI readings came in mostly weaker than expected, signaling that the region is already on shaky footing ahead of a potential Brexit. German Ifo business climate data and the Italian retail sales report are due today. 

GBP

The pound had a volatile time during the start of polling in the UK, as some surveys suggested a victory for the "remain" camp but early results from regions showed a lead by the "leave" camp. The gap has been growing in favor of leaving the EU as of this writing, leading to sharp declines for the UK currency in anticipation of increased uncertainty and a potential economic recession. 

CHF

The franc has been advancing against most of its forex counterparts and acting as a safe-haven in the European region. There were no reports out of Switzerland yesterday and none are due today, keeping risk sentiment as the main driver of price action. 

JPY

The yen was able to take advantage of the run in risk aversion during the EU referendum, as the Japanese currency acted as a safe-haven particularly for Asian markets which are seeing the first few results. There were no reports out of Japan yesterday and none are due today. 

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls have been dropping on account of risk-off vibes in the financial markets, as a Brexit appears possible. Exiting the EU could mean negative economic repercussions not just for the UK but for the rest of the global economy, weighing on appetite for commodities. There are no reports due from the comdoll economies today so it could be all about risk sentiment. 

By Kate Curtis from Trader's Way