CN: Euro surges to 3-week high after volatile post-ECB moves
The euro had a roller coaster ride on Thursday after the European Central Bank announced a raft of stimulus measures. The initial reaction was to fall after the ECB said it will launch a series of bold easing measures which include a deeper cut to already negative deposit rates and an expansion in its asset purchase program.
When ECB President Mario Draghi suggested that the ECB was down with rate cuts and there would be no further rate cuts, the euro bounced back to make a 2 percent gain after a 1.6 percent drop. It made its biggest intra-day gain since the December post ECB-rally.
EUR/USD held gains near a three-week high of $1.1218. Meanwhile, EUR/JPY advanced to a three-week high of 126.83 yen.
USD/JPY was up 0.3 percent at 113.52 yen, shedding some losses suffered earlier when it dipped to 112.75.
The dollar index suffered big losses on the euro’s broad strength, dropping to a near a one-month low of 95.939.
The Australian dollar rebounded slightly to $0.7489 after slipping 0.4 percent on Thursday.
The New Zealand dollar, which fell hard after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand unexpectedly cut interest rates on Thursday, managed to move off a one-week low of $0.6618 and last traded at $0.6692.
