The euro fell today, Wednesday, to a new record not reached in 20 years against the dollar, as fears of high energy prices and possible supply shortages cast a shadow over the euro zone economy despite some reassurances about gas supplies.
Equinor said today that oil and gas fields affected by a strike in the Norwegian oil sector are expected to return to full capacity within two days.
On the other hand, Goldman Sachs raised its forecast for natural gas prices, saying that the full restoration of Russian gas flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline is no longer the most likely possibility.
Analysts expect a rapid rise in oil prices as supply shortages persist.
The euro fell 0.3 percent to $ 1.023 after hitting its lowest level since December 2002 at $ 1.0225.
In addition, gold prices fell, near their lowest levels in seven months, on Wednesday, as expectations of a rate hike hurt the price of the non-yielding metal.
And gold fell in spot transactions 0.2 percent to $ 1760.90 an ounce by 1053 GMT, after falling by about 2.6 percent on Tuesday. US gold futures fell 0.3 percent to $1,759.00 an ounce.
The dollar, which rivals gold as a safe haven for value, has risen to near 20-year highs, making dollar-denominated gold less attractive to buyers in other currencies.
Gold has faced the effects of higher interest rates and bond yields globally, which increases the opportunity cost of acquiring the metal.
Major central banks raised interest rates by more in June than they had in the past 20 years, according to Archyde.com. With inflation still rising to its highest levels in decades, the rate hike is not expected to stop this year.
As for other precious metals, spot silver fell 0.2 percent to $19.15 an ounce, and platinum fell 0.9 percent to $867.71. And palladium rose 0.8 percent to 1947.82 dollars.