Investing.com -- EUR/USD fell slightly on Wednesday reversing some of its gains from the previous session, as downward pressure from a sharp decline in commodities provided support for a delayed interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
The currency pair traded between a low of 1.087 and a high of 1.0967 on Wednesday, before settling at 1.0927, down 0.10%. EUR/USD closed lower for the fifth time in seven sessions, closing below 1.10 for the seventh straight trading day. The euro is down approximately 4% against its American counterpart since peaking above 1.14 on June 22.
EUR/USD likely gained support at 1.0808, the low from July 20 and was met with resistance at 1.198, the high from July 13.
On Wednesday, gold for August delivery fell more than 0.9% to 1,093.00 an ounce settling below $1,100 for the first time in more than five years. Gold futures have closed lower on 10 consecutive sessions, tying its longest losing skid since 1996. The precious metal is down by approximately 10% since closing above 1,200 an ounce in late-June. The downturn in gold has coincided with the steady fall in crude prices.
WTI crude for September delivery plummeted more than 3.25% on Wednesday to $49.19 a barrel, falling below $50 for the first time since early-April. In its weekly Petroleum Status Report, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said U.S. crude inventories rose by 2.5 million barrels for the week ending on July 17. Analysts expected a weekly draw of 2.2 million barrels. Any supply build is viewed as bearish for crude amid a glut of oversupply in global energy markets.
In June, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics said its headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) in June rose by 0.3% on a monthly basis and 0.1% over the last 12 months. More critically, energy prices on the month rose by 1.7% on the back of a 3.4% spike in the price of gasoline. The Fed has strongly hinted that it could raise rates if it received indications that temporary drags from lower energy prices subsided. Over the last month, however, crude futures have declined by more than 12%.
In Europe, meanwhile, the European Central Bank increased liquidity assistance to Greek banks by €900 million, ahead of a vote by Greek Parliament on Wednesday night. After passing four critical bailout measures last week, the Parliament must ratify two additional measures on Wednesday required by its euro zone creditors to re-open bailout talks. On Tuesday, Greek government officials said they were hopeful that a deal which could unlock €86 billion in stimulus aid could be completed by August 20.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, rose more than 0.4% to an intraday high of 97.94. On Monday, the dollar index surged to a three-month high at 98.31.