Euro rose on Thursday against a basket of global currencies, continuing its recovery for the second day in a row from a three-week low against US dollar, taking advantage of the accelerated dollar sell-off, following Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's testimony before the Congress, which has boosted prospects of a cut in US interest rates this year comes ahead of the release of the the latest ECB meeting minutes, which is sure to provide strong evidence on the future of monetary policy in the euro area.

As of 08:15 GMT, EUR/USD rose by more than 0.2% to trade at $1.1275, from the opening price of $1.1250, with the highest at $1.1280 and the lowest at $1.1250.

Euro gained 0.4% against dollar on Wednesday, its first gain in the past four days, recovering from a three-week low of $1.1193 recorded the day before, supported by Jerome Powell's comments at the US Congress.

The dollar index fell more than 0.25% on Thursday, extending losses for the second day in a row, reflecting the continued decline of the US currency against a basket of major and secondary currencies, after the Federal Reserve's Governor semi-annual testimony, which has boosted the possibility of a significant cut in US interest rates this year.

In the majority of comments, Jerome Powell appeared pessimistic, contradicting market expectations of neutrality or being less pessimistic. The Federal Reserve chairman pointed at the weakness of the global economy, which casts a shadow over the US economy outlook amid uncertainty about the consequences of the trade wars that his country is engaged in with China and other countries.

The comments reinforced the strong prospects over the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by 25 basis points this month, as the chances of a 50 basis point jumped to nearly 30% after falling due to strong US jobs data on Friday.

Meanwhile, investors are anticipating the release of the ECB's latest meeting minutes by 11:30 GMT, which will certainly provide strong evidence on the future of monetary policy in the euro area.

Mario Draghi, governor of the European Central Bank, said after the meeting on June 6 that members of the bank are ready to cut interest rates and inject new monetary incentives in the form of bonds to support the economy in the euro area.

Draghi added that these measures may come at a time when the risks surrounding the economy, especially the global trade war, and the separation of Britain from the European Union are increasing.

Litecoin dropped more than 7%, or nearly $8, on Thursday, to its lowest since May 24, to reflect it bounce off the highest since May 15, 2018 at $146 reached on June 22,  amid market pricing of the reduced incentive on Litecoin mining by about a half starting from next August, before its entry into a correction phase for its recent extended gains since the beginning of this year.

As of 05:29 GMT, Litecoin fell by 7.37% to $100.33 compared to the opening level of $108.29, which is the highest level in today's trading, while the lowest level at $95.10 (lowest in seven weeks), while the market value of the fourth largest cryptocurrency in terms of value is currently about $6.27 billion.

Litecoin is currently heading for a weekly loss of more than 16%, its fourth weekly loss in a row, as it also reflects a monthly loss of about 18%, which is in the process of ending its longest monthly gains streak in two years following its monthly gain of nearly 7% last month.

In addition, Litecon has returned to be the fourth largest cryptocurrency by market value again, after Bitcoin-Cash surpassed its market value briefly and regained its position, while starting from next August 6, it's expected that the mining incentive for Litecoin will be cut from 25 units to 12.5, which will in turn reduce supply and thus raise prices.

Otherwise, earlier this month, Litecoin received the "excellent" mark in the US, the largest market for cryptocurrencies, specifically by the US rating company Weiss Crypto Ratings, which published a list of cryptocurrencies that includes an estimate of the level of profitability for Litecoin at B +, the rating was based on several criteria including total reliability, acceptance and investment activity in the network.

The popularity of Litecoin among cryptocurrencies traders, in addition to its relatively long history on the crypto market, have played a fundamental role in achieving that degree, Litecoin has also been rated "B" for its investment security, noting that the first two currencies in terms of market cap Bitcoin and Ethereum also led that rating, despite Bitcoin having "C+" at the safety of investment rating.

According to CNN, Tron CEO, Justin Sun, said during last month that he is thrilled to invite his "good friend" Charlie Lee, the creator of Litecoin, to the $4.6 million crypto power lunch by July 25, in addition to the billionaire cryptocurrency skeptic Warren Buffett.

Sun hopes his friend will help him change Buffett's view of the cryptocurrency industry at the annual charity lunch in which Tron offered the highest bid at $4.6 million. The charity lunch, which will also highlight a local charity supported by Buffett's wife in San Francisco, a lot of traders in the crypto community expressed about the fact that the creator of Litecoin is a wonderful ambassador of the industry.

Silver futures rose during the Asian session to rebound in the fifth session of its lowest since June 19, amid the bounce of the dollar index for the third session from its highest since June 19 according to the inverse relation between them, and on the threshold of developments and economic data release expected Thursday by the US economy, which includes the second half of the of the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's semi-annual testimony before the US Congress in Washington.

As of 05:23 GMT, silver futures (September delivery) rose by 0.33% to currently trade at $15.32 per ounce compared to the opening at $15.27. the futures opened the session on a bullish price gap after closing yesterday At $15.23 per ounce, amid the decline of the US dollar index by 0.19% to 96.87 compared to the opening at 97.06.

The markets are currently looking forward for the US economy to release its inflation data with the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which may reflect stability at zero versus 0.1% growth in May, while the core reading of the same index may show growth accelerating to 0.2% vs. 0.1%. While the annual reading of the index may show a slowdown in growth to 1.6% from 1.8%, the annual core reading may reflect the stability of growth at 2.0%.

This comes in conjunction with the release of the unemployment claims for the week ending on the sixth of this month, which may reflect a decline of 1 thousand applications to a total of 220 thousand, in addition to the release of the continuing unemployment claims for the week ending on June 29, which may decrease by 4 thousand applications to 1,682 thousand. Leading to the second half of Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell's semi-annual testimony on monetary policy before the Senate Banking Committee.

We would like to point out that Powell made his first semi-annual testimony on monetary policy before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, before the release of the FOMC meeting minutes, which was held on June 18-19, During which monetary policy makers at the Federal Reserve kept interest rates between 2.25% and 2.50% for the fourth consecutive meeting.

The markets are also looking forward to what Federal Reserve member Randall Quarless will say in his speech today, as he is expected to speak about financial regulation and monetary policy at an event hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center, in Washington DC, amid investors' pricing for prospects of the Federal Reserve to cut the short-term benchmark interest rates by 25 at this month meeting.

Gold futures rallied during the Asian session, rising to their highest since July 3rd, when it tested its highest since May 14, 2013 amid the bounce of the dollar index for the third session from its highest since June 19 according to the inverse relation between them, and on the threshold of developments and economic data release expected Thursday by the US economy, which includes the second half of the of the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's semi-annual testimony before the US Congress.

As of 03:58 GMT, gold futures for (August 15th delivery) rose by 0.37% to currently trading at $1,426.40 per ounce compared with the opening at $1,421.10, as the futures started trading today bullish price gap after it closed Yesterday at $1,412.50 per ounce, amid the decline of the US dollar index by 0.20% to 96.87 compared to the opening at 97.06.

The markets are currently looking forward for the US economy to release its inflation data with the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which may reflect stability at zero versus 0.1% growth in May, while the core reading of the same index may show growth accelerating to 0.2% vs. 0.1%. While the annual reading of the index may show a slowdown in growth to 1.6% from 1.8%, the annual core reading may reflect the stability of growth at 2.0%.

This comes in conjunction with the release of the unemployment claims for the week ending on the sixth of this month, which may reflect a decline of 1 thousand applications to a total of 220 thousand, in addition to the release of the continuing unemployment claims for the week ending on June 29, which may decrease by 4 thousand applications to 1,682 thousand. Leading to the second half of Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell's semi-annual testimony on monetary policy before the Senate Banking Committee.

We would like to point out that Powell made his first semi-annual testimony on monetary policy before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, before the release of the FOMC meeting minutes, which was held on June 18-19, During which monetary policy makers at the Federal Reserve kept interest rates between 2.25% and 2.50% for the fourth consecutive meeting.

The markets are also looking forward to what Federal Reserve member Randall Quarless will say in his speech today, as he is expected to speak about financial regulation and monetary policy at an event hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center, in Washington DC, amid investors' pricing for prospects of the Federal Reserve to cut the short-term benchmark interest rates by 25 at this month meeting.