Investing.com -- EUR/USD surged on Monday enjoying one of its highest one-day gains in nearly a month, as investors await the Federal Open Market Committee's two-day meeting starting on Tuesday for further hints on the timing of a highly-anticipated interest rate hike.
The currency pair traded between 1.0969 and 1.1129 on Monday before settling at 1.1091, up 1.08% on the session. The euro closed above 1.10 against its American counterpart for the first in almost two weeks, after posting its third win in the last four sessions.
EUR/USD likely gained support at 1.0826 the low from July 17 and was met with resistance at 1.1218, the high from July 10.
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Commerce said total durable goods orders for the month of July rose by 3.4%, above expectations of a 3.1% gain. Durable goods received a boost from transportation, the subset in which aircraft orders are measured. Excluding transportation, durable goods rose 0.8% above consensus estimates of a 0.5% monthly gain.
Orders for Core durable goods, which also excludes airlines data, rose by 0.8% for July, above expectations for a 0.5% gain. Defying a long-term trend, total durable goods order increased on a monthly basis for only the third time since last July.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, plunged more than 0.9% to an intraday low of 96.47. Last week, the index surged to a three-month high at 98.31.
While the FOMC is not expected to raise rates on Wednesday after the completion of its July meeting, it could provide strong indications of whether lift-off could take place during its meeting in September. The Fed has kept short-term rates at its current level between zero and 0.2% since the end of the Financial Crisis in an effort to jumpstart the U.S. economy. Nearly a decade has passed since the Fed has raised its benchmark Federal Funds Rate. Earlier last week, Federal Reserve of St. Louis president James Bullard said there is a 50% chance the FOMC will raise rates during its September meeting.
In Europe, officials from the International Monetary Fund confirmed Monday that technical talks over a comprehensive bailout for Greece are getting underway. Also, reports surfaced on Monday that prime minister Alexis Tsipras is considering holding an election on Nov. 8, as his support in his Syriza party dwindles. Tsipras celebrated the start of his sixth month in office on Monday. Y
Yields on U.S. 10-Year Treasuries fell four basis points to 2.22%, while yields on Germany 10-Year Bunds remained flat at 0.69%. Yields on U.S. 10-year Treasuries are now down 25 basis points over the last year.