ForexLive Americas FX news wrap: Race to the exits

Forex news for US trading on August 20, 2015:

Greek Prime Minister Tsipras resigns
August Philly Fed +8.3 vs +6.5 expected
Initial jobless claims 277K vs 271K expected
US existing home sales annualized 5.59m vs 5.43M expected
Academic stirs PBOC cut rumors
Canada June wholesale trade sales +1.3% vs +0.9% expected
SNB's Jordan says prepared to intervene if necessary
ECB's Nowotny says yuan devaluation shouldn't be dramatized
Nowotny says there is no signal for early end to QE
Japan needs to see July-Sept data before deciding if economic steps needed
Greece to hold elections on September 20
Gold up $19 to $1152
WTI crude expires up 34-cents to $41.14
Hurricane in the mid-Atlantic boosts oil prices
US 10-year yields down 5.4 bps to 2.07%
S&P 500 down 44 points to 2036
EUR leads, AUD and USD lag

It was the worst day for the S&P 500 since Feb 2014 and the July and March lows broke in a final flurry of trading.

Today was the best evidence yet that the euro is a pure carry-funding currency now. It was a rush to the exits and that meant euro-buying right across the board. It came in waves, starting at 1.1170 as New York arrived and then falling to 1.1150 on better US economic data. But shortly later, it busted above 1.12 then went sideways until a late rip to 1.1240, breaking stops.

USD/JPY was persistently sold but perhaps not as much as you'd expect given the weakness in stocks. There were rumors of heavy bids ahead of 123 from non-manufacturers.

Cable took advantage of steady US dollar selling and recovered from the drop to 1.5606 to test 1.5700.

Even the commodity currencies were able to capitalize on dollar selling. The theme of the day was getting out. That meant getting out of every crowded trade and the long dollar/short commodity trade is the most popular.