Investing.com - The euro slipped lower against the dollar on Thursday as investors waited to see if the European Central Bank would embark on a large scale quantitative easing program later in the day.
EUR/USD slid 0.23% to 1.1585, not far from last Friday’s 11-year trough of 1.1459.
The single currency has been pressured lower by mounting expectations that the ECB will launch a government bond-buying program at its meeting later Thursday, in a bid to stave off the threat of deflation in the euro area.
Uncertainty over the outcome of Greek elections, due to be held on Sunday, with anti-bailout party Syriza leading in the polls also weighed.
The euro also slipped lower against the yen, with EUR/JPY down 0.24% to 136.60.
The Bank of Japan held off on expanding its monetary easing scheme on Wednesday and instead expanded a loan scheme aimed at boosting lending.
USD/JPY was little changed at 117.96, off Wednesday’s lows of 117.17.
In other trade, the Canadian dollar was at six year lows, with USD/CAD at 1.2355 after the Bank of Canada shocked markets with a rate cut on Wednesday.
The BoC cut rates to 0.72% from 1.0% previously and lowered its inflation outlook, in response to the recent sharp drop in oil prices.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.19% to 93.18.