The euro sank against the US dollar after the European Central Bank maintained interest rates and suggested that monetary policy will remain accommodative for a long time. The currency managed to gain against some other majors, including the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc.
The ECB kept its main interest rate at 0.5 percent. Comments of President Mario Draghi after the policy meeting were fairly dovish:
Underlying price pressures in the euro area are expected to remain subdued over the medium term. In keeping with this picture, monetary and, in particular, credit dynamics remain subdued.
He also said that stimulus will stay for a prolonged time:
Looking ahead, our monetary policy stance will remain accommodative for as long as necessary. The Governing Council confirms that it expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at present or lower levels for an extended period of time.
Draghi admitted that there were some positive developments in the economy, but in general he tried to downplay expectations of tighter monetary policy.
EUR/USD dipped from 1.3300 to 1.3261 as of 13:33 GMT today after touching the low of 1.3196. At the same time, EUR/JPY advanced from 130.15 to 131.13 and EUR/CHF rose from 1.2317 to 1.2336.
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