Commodities gave up ground on Wednesday as the dollar added to its gains versus a basket of major currencies, with safe havens like gold and silver hit particularly hard as investors head towards riskier and more rewarding assets following strong U.S. housing data.

Silver prices tumbled twenty cents, or one percent to trade at $19.80 an ounce, while gold prices retreated nearly six dollar,s or 0.45% to hover around $1,326 an ounce. Copper futures also suffered losses, sliding 0.75% to trade at $2.247 a pound.

The dollar on the other hand basked atop a 4-1/2 month high against a basket of major currencies, up 0.30% on the day at 97.34, following forecast-beating housing starts and building permits data, which restored investors' confidence in the world's largest economy.

Other main currencies resigned in front of the greenback's advance, with the euro down 0.27% at 1.0991, a fresh three-week low for the common currency, while sterling edged down 0.14% to 1.3094.

Investors await a bunch of later data today, with a survey tracking consumer confidence in the Eurozone expected to drop further to minus 8 from minus 7 in June, as Britain's impending exit still weighs on minds in the Eurozone.

From the U.S., crude oil inventories are expected to have fallen yet again last week by 1.3 million barrels, adding to the previous week's 2.5 million fall, which would underpin oil prices.