Investing.com - The euro retraced gains on Thursday after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said there isn’t enough evidence to change the ECB’s inflation outlook.
EUR/USD was down 0.22% to 1.0880 by 09.22 ET, after rising as high as 1.0933 earlier.
The euro initially rose to the day’s highs after Draghi said that risks are moving closer to being "broadly balanced", and that "downside risks have diminished."
Draghi noted that economic data since the bank’s March meeting confirmed that the recovery in the euro area is becoming “increasingly solid."
But the single currency reversed gains after Draghi said there is no evidence of a self-sustaining move in inflation and no sufficient evidence to alter the inflation outlook for the euro zone.
The euro extended losses after Draghi dismissed speculation over the manner in which the ECB might end its monetary stimulus program, saying that there is "no need to discuss sequencing of removing accommodation at present."
The ECB chief also brushed off questions about the potential impact of a victory for Emmanuel Macron in the second round of the French presidential election, noting that “we don’t do monetary policy based on likely election outcomes”.
The ECB left borrowing costs across the euro zone unchanged at the conclusion of its policy meeting earlier Thursday. Policymakers also voted to leave its stimulus program unchanged, meaning it will keep buying €60 billion of new bonds each month.
The euro pared back gains against the yen, with EUR/JPY last at 121.06, off an earlier high of 121.89.
The single currency fell to the day’s lows against sterling, with EUR/GBP falling 0.65% to 0.8433.