Investing.com - The euro fell to the day’s lows against the U.S. dollar on Thursday after the European Central Bank maintained its pledge to boost its stimulus program in the future, if necessary.
EUR/USD was down 0.25% to 1.1485 by 08.05 a.m. ET (12.05 p.m. GMT), pulling away from Wednesday’s 14-month highs of 1.1582.
The ECB repeated its pledge to keep buying €60 billion of new bonds each month until the end of this year and stuck to its promise to extend the program if needed.
The central bank also repeated its pledge to keep borrowing costs at their record low “for an extended period of time”, and well past the horizon of its asset purchase program.
Investors were looking ahead to the bank’s post-policy meeting press conference with President Mario Draghi, amid expectations that it could herald a policy shift.
Anticipation was building ahead of Draghi remarks after he sent the euro higher with hawkish comments on the euro zone recovery in a speech in Sintra, Portugal late last month.
The remarks appeared to signal a shift towards tapering monetary stimulus, but Draghi also reiterated that any changes to the stimulus program will be “gradual” and “cautious.”
The ECB is facing a balancing act between reducing stimulus as the economy strengthens while markets remain jittery and inflation remains below the bank’s target.