Investing.com - The euro pulled away from session lows against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the euro zone was making “visible progress” in tackling the debt crisis, but he urged governments to continue with efforts to reduce budget deficits.
EUR/USD pulled back from 1.2717, the pair’s lowest since September 7, to hit 1.2745 during U.S. morning trade, still down 0.20% for the day.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2625, the low of September 7 and resistance at 1.2797, the session high.
Speaking at the ECB’s post-policy meeting press conference, Draghi said the bank’s planned bond purchase program had bolstered confidence in financial markets.
Draghi said the ECB expected growth to continue to be weak both for the remainder of this year and in 2013 and added that inflation is likely to remain just above the targeted 2% rate in the near term.
The ECB kept interest rates unchanged at a record-low 0.75% earlier, in line with market expectations.
Elsewhere, a successful Spanish bond auction on Thursday eased pressure on Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to request a bailout before the end of this year.
Spain sold EUR4.76 billion of three-year, five-year and 20-year bonds, which will allow the country to meet its financing requirements for 2012.
Concerns over Greece lingered after the country’s parliament narrowly approved further austerity measures required to secure the next installment of bailout funds, as the measures look likely to exacerbate the country’s recession.
Overall market sentiment continued to be weighed by concerns over the U.S. fiscal cliff, automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1 unless lawmakers can reach an agreement, which could threaten U.S. and global growth.
The euro was trading close to a five-week low against the pound, with EUR/GBP down 0.19% to 0.7974 and was hovering just above a one-month low against the yen, with EUR/JPY down 0.285 to 101.87.
Also Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance fell to 355,000 last week from 363,000 the previous week, compared to expectations for an increase to 370,000.
A separate report showed that the U.S trade deficit narrowed to USD41.5 billion in September from a deficit of USD43.8 billion in August, defying expectations for a deficit of USD45.0 billion.
EUR/USD pulled back from 1.2717, the pair’s lowest since September 7, to hit 1.2745 during U.S. morning trade, still down 0.20% for the day.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2625, the low of September 7 and resistance at 1.2797, the session high.
Speaking at the ECB’s post-policy meeting press conference, Draghi said the bank’s planned bond purchase program had bolstered confidence in financial markets.
Draghi said the ECB expected growth to continue to be weak both for the remainder of this year and in 2013 and added that inflation is likely to remain just above the targeted 2% rate in the near term.
The ECB kept interest rates unchanged at a record-low 0.75% earlier, in line with market expectations.
Elsewhere, a successful Spanish bond auction on Thursday eased pressure on Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to request a bailout before the end of this year.
Spain sold EUR4.76 billion of three-year, five-year and 20-year bonds, which will allow the country to meet its financing requirements for 2012.
Concerns over Greece lingered after the country’s parliament narrowly approved further austerity measures required to secure the next installment of bailout funds, as the measures look likely to exacerbate the country’s recession.
Overall market sentiment continued to be weighed by concerns over the U.S. fiscal cliff, automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1 unless lawmakers can reach an agreement, which could threaten U.S. and global growth.
The euro was trading close to a five-week low against the pound, with EUR/GBP down 0.19% to 0.7974 and was hovering just above a one-month low against the yen, with EUR/JPY down 0.285 to 101.87.
Also Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance fell to 355,000 last week from 363,000 the previous week, compared to expectations for an increase to 370,000.
A separate report showed that the U.S trade deficit narrowed to USD41.5 billion in September from a deficit of USD43.8 billion in August, defying expectations for a deficit of USD45.0 billion.