Euro rose in European trade against dollar for another session following remarks by ECB President Christine Lagarde ahead of Parliament. 

The greenback is extending its decline off 20-year highs against major rivals on active profit-taking ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell's Congressional testimony.

EUR/USD rose 0.6% today to 1.0578, after rising 0.2% yesterday, the fourth profit in five days.

Lagarde

ECB President Christine Lagarde said the ECB doesn't expect a recession in the euro zone but must take precautions against it.

Lagarde pointed to the Ukrainian crisis as the ongoing cause for inflation, and asserted the central bank must work to coordinate monetary policies better in European countries.

European Rates

Now markets fully expect the ECB to hike rates by 25 basis points in July, and by a similar amount in September.

The Dollar

The dollar index fell 0.5% on Tuesday for another session on profit-taking off 20-year highs against major rivals. 

The dollar lost ground amid doubts the Fed might ever hike rates by 75 basis points once more this year.

Markets also await Fed Chair Jerome Powell's Congressional testimony this week to gather more clues on the future of monetary policy. 

Industrial metals prices tiled higher in Asian trade as the dollar index slipped off December 2002 highs, ahead of US data later today while markets price in latest developments about China.

Silver futures due in September rose 0.56% to $21.64 an ounce, off May 16 lows for the fifth session.

Copper futures due in September rose 0.26% to $4.008 a pound, off August 2021 lows.

Palladium prices rose 0.91% to $1,870 an ounce, while platinum spot prices rose 0.29% to $938 an ounce.

Aluminum futures rose 1.16% to $2,527 a tone, while Zinc fell 0.17% to $3,517.

From the US, existing home sales are expected down to 5.40 million, after falling 2.4% to 5.61 million in April.

Recent Chinese data showed copper imports rose 15% to 31,267 tones, while palladium imports rose 19% to 769 kilos, as Nickel imports fell 90% to 300 tones.

Latest World Health Organization data showed Covid 19 infections rose to over 535 million cases, with the death toll mounting to 6.314 million so far.

On the Ukrainian crisis, the Kremlin said the negotiations with Ukraine aren't going very well, especially after aggressive remarks by the Ukrainian government recently on the Crimean Bridge.

Ukrainian government asserted a goal to take back the Crimean Bridge once it acquire weaponry from the US and Europe.

The dollar index fell off December 2002 highs by 0.10% to 104.34, with a session-low at 104.22. 

Ruble rose on Monday against most major rivals, hitting 2015 highs against dollar as the Russian currency continues its stellar recovery from the post-Ukrainian invasion collapse.

It has reached a state of concern for the Russian Central bank, as a stronger currency weakens export values.

The stronger a currency the less attractive its products would be price-wise to holders of other currencies.

Ruble rose 1.7% today against dollar to 55.44, with yearly gains mounting to 35% so far.

The Russian economy teetered on collapse throughout the year, after harsh sanctions by European and US governments, especially on the banking sector.

That crashed Ruble to 150 against dollar, before the central bank hiked rates by a double to 20% and imposed limits on withdrawing cash outside the country.

What truly helped out was Russian President Putin's decision to force buyers of Russian gas and oil in the west to pay with the Ruble for the contracts. 

Now the Russian central bank is back to cutting rates by nearly 10.5% very quickly as the economy and the currency stabilize. 

Oil prices declined in European trade for another session with Brent plumbing five-eek lows on concerns about global growth.

Prices are also pressured by increasing US oil rig count, boosting US production.

Global Prices

US crude fell 1.5% to $108.42 a barrel, while Brent declined 1.75% to $111.58 a barrel, after US crude lost 6% on Friday, while Brent lost 5% back then, the largest such loss sine May 9.

Global oil prices declined 7.5% last week, the second weekly decline in a row, and the largest such loss since March,

Global Economy

As global central banks continue to tighten policies to control inflation, fears are spreading about a slowdown in growth rates.

A global contraction would obviously harm demand on oil and hurt prices.

Baker Hughes data showed US oil rigs rose by 4 rigs to 584 rigs last week, the second such increase in a row to March 2020 highs.

Oil rigs rose in May for the 22nd month in row, the longest such streak ever, while US output rose 100 thousand bpd last week to a total of 12 million bpd, the highest since April 2020.