The Euro is poised to record its worst weekly decline in 19 months after the European Central Bank's latest statement. Markets had been expecting the ECB to curtail its quantitative easing program and were unsurprised by that outcome. However, Mario Draghi, the President of the ECB, later announced that its governing council had made the decision to maintain a low interest rate environment through mid-2019, news which took markets by surprise and which significantly weighed on the Euro.
As reported at 10:09 am (JST) in Tokyo, the EUR/USD was trading at $1.16, down 0.08%, an improvement from the earlier low of $1.1551. The EUR/GBP was trading at 0.8724 Pence, down 0.02%; the pair has ranged from 0.87219 Pence to 0.87300 Pence.
Bank of Japan Set to Maintain Position
In Asia later today, the Bank of Japan will conclude its 2-day policy session. The latest survey of economists and analysts suggest that there will likely be few surprises,with the BOJ likely maintaining interest rates and QE at current levels. The USD/JPY pair are trading at 110.48 Yen, down 0.17%; the pair earlier hit a peak of 110.690 Yen while the low is at 110.457 Yen.