Investing.com -- EUR/USD rose modestly on Thursday extending gains from one session earlier, as currency traders closely observed high-level discussions in Brussels regarding the Greek debt crisis and mulled polarizing views from influential Federal Reserve officials on the timing of an interest rate hike.
EUR/USD gained .0043 to 1.0948, as the pair continued its rally following a sharp depreciation over the last two weeks. The euro is still down considerably against its U.S. counterpart since soaring to monthly highs of 1.1467 in the middle of May. Before Thursday's session, EUR/USD closed lower in eight of its previous 10 sessions.
The pair likely gained support at 1.0819, the low from May 27 and was met with resistance at 1.1211, the high from May 22.
In Brussels, there were few developments in talks between Greece and its troika of creditors from the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and European Commission, as the beleaguered nation looks to reach an accord which would unlock critical aid deemed necessary to stave off bankruptcy. One day earlier, Greece prime minister Alexis Tsipras said the sides had moved closer to striking a deal after beginning the initial process of drafting a technical level agreement. European officials reportedly have downplayed the developments.
A deal in the four-month stalemate could free up the remaining €7.2 billion of a 240 billion bailout euro zone creditors have provided to the cash-strapped Mediterranean nation. Greece is in desperate need of the stimulus package as it reportedly grows closer to running out of cash by the day. Before the deadline to reach an agreement expires at the end of June, Greece owes approximately €1.6 billion to the International Monetary Fund over several payments due next month.
Yields on Greece 10-Year bonds rose 16 basis points to 10.74%, one day after bond prices surged amid heightened expectations of a deal.
Meanwhile, two prominent Federal Reserve policymakers offered divergent views on the timing of an interest rate hike in speeches on opposite ends of the globe. Delivering a speech to a banking supervision conference in Singapore, San Francisco Fed president John Williams said he thinks the Fed will raise rates at some point this year while predicting above-trend growth in the U.S. economy for the rest of 2015. Hours later, Minneapolis Fed president Narayana Kocherlakota indicated that it would be a mistake for the Fed to institute a rate hike this year, adding that it would take four years of job growth at last year's rate for the labor market to return to its level from 2007 before the Financial Crisis.
When Fed chair Janet Yellen said last week that it would be appropriate for the Federal Open Market Committee to raise rates in 2015 if the economy showed continued improvement, her comments had little effect on major currency fluctuations on the foreign exchange market.
A decision by two major securities firms in China to clamp down on margin requirements triggered a sell-off among Chinese stocks and sent shockwaves through global markets. As a result, the Shanghai Composite Index tumbled more than 6%, its largest decline in four months.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, gained 0.06% to 97.47.