Markets take it on chin as Greece misses €1.6bn IMF repayment

The lack of any 11th-hour breakthrough in talks between Athens and key eurozone leaders meant markets were little riled by the failure of Greece to meet the repayment to the IMF due yesterday.

Bond and currency markets instead continued to focus on the weekend referendum called by Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras as his Syriza party continued to urge Greeks to reject the conditions of the IMF and EU creditors.

German chancellor Angela Merkel ruled out further negotiations with Greece ahead of the vote, signalling that the so-called official creditors — the EU, IMF, and the ECB — are involved in appealing to Greek voters above the head of Mr Tsipras, analysts said.