The euro on Thursday fell to its lowest level versus the dollar since the middle of 2017 after the European Central Bank said it will maintain its ultralow interest rates until after the end of the year — an extension from before — and said a new long-term refinancing program for eurozone banks was coming.
The euro EURUSD, -1.0169% which had been little changed ahead of the policy decision, slipped to $1.1182, compared with $1.1309 late Wednesday, hitting its lowest level since June 2017, according to FactSet. The shared currency has fallen for four straight days.
The ECB on Thursday announced it would launch a new round of targeted longer-term refinancing operations, or TLTROs, to eurozone banks. On the rate front, the central bank had previously said it would hold off on any rate hikes until some point after this summer.
See: Here’s why the ECB’s surprise policy moves sent shivers through global stock markets
The central bank also downgraded, as expected, its 2019 forecast for eurozone-area gross domestic product to 1.1% from 1.7%. The ECB now sees 2020 growth of 1.6% versus a previous forecast of 1.7%, while the outlook for 2021 was unchanged at 1.5%.
Read: Beware the ‘Japanification’ of Europe, warn ING economists
An extension of the TLTRO loan program could prove a positive for the euro, as it would theoretically stimulate lending in the eurozone and spur further growth, said Boris Schlossberg, managing director of FX strategy at BK Asset Management, in a note prior to the policy decision.
During a subsequent news conference, ECB President Mario Draghi said the central bank saw the probability of a recession as “very low,” but also that the governing council was reliant on economic data, which is currently pointing down.
The “ECB delivered fireworks: a new series of TLTROs, basically acknowledging the slow growth in the eurozone,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at ThinkMarkets. “This announcement made traders go wild and this pushed the euro-dollar price lower.”
The U.S. dollar regained strength on the back of its major rival’s weakness. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.78% was last up 0.5% at 97.388, its highest level since December.
In U.S. economic data, jobless claims for the week ended March 2 came in slightly lower than expected. Fourth-quarter productivity grew at a rate of 1.9%, while unit labor costs increased 2%.
Other major currencies saw slightly more movement compared the buck and the euro. The British pound GBPUSD, -0.6758% slipped to $1.3072, versus $1.3169 late Wednesday.
The Japanese yen USDJPY, -0.11% eked out some strength against the greenback, with one dollar buying ¥111.62, down 0.2%.
Canada’s dollar USDCAD, +0.0670% gave back its earlier gains Thursday, following its decline in the previous session after the Bank of Canada delivered a dovish policy update. One U.S. dollar last bought C$1.3464, little changed.
In emerging markets, the Argentine peso USDARS, +4.2193% traded to a record low versus the greenback Thursday as the economy struggles to curb soaring inflation. The peso hit an intraday low of 42.60 versus the dollar, and in most recent trade, one dollar was buying 42.50 pesos.
The peso has fallen 10.2% versus the greenback since the beginning of the year, according to FactSet data.
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