Investing.com -- EUR/USD rallied considerably on Thursday to move above near seven month lows, as the timing of an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve and weak inflation projections from the European Central Bank remained in focus.
The currency pair traded in a broad range between 1.0656 and 1.0763 before settling at 1.0734, up 0.0074 or 0.69% on the session. With the sharp gains, the euro closed above 1.07 against the dollar for the first time in four sessions. Over the last month of trading, though, the euro has still lost more than 5% in value against its American counterpart.
EUR/USD likely gained support at 1.0519, the low from April 13 and was met with resistance at 1.1496, the high from Oct. 15.
Currency traders continued to react to the release of the Federal Open Market Committee's minutes from its October minutes on Wednesday when the U.S. central bank sent stronger indications that it could raise short-term interest rates when it meets again next month. The minutes showed that the majority of the committee's members judged that significant global financial risks had diminished enough to strongly consider tightening monetary policy before the end of the year. In each of the last two meetings the FOMC has voted 9-1 to hold its benchmark Federal Funds Rate at its current rate between zero and 0.25%. The rate, which banks use for interbank overnight loans at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, has remained at a near-zero level since December, 2008. Nearly a decade has passed since the Fed last raised short-term rates.
Investors also digested the minutes from the ECB's Governing Council's November meeting, which revealed that the bank fears that the risks of deflation have become more pronounced, amid a slowing of core inflation. The ECB's downward revision of its inflation outlook exacerbate concerns that the central bank may not have enough tools at its disposal to reach its targeted goal of 2% inflation over the next year. Investors await the Governing Council's next meeting on Dec. 3 for a potential interest rate cut and an expansion of the euro zone's comprehensive asset-purchasing program possibly needed to help stave off negative inflation.
Elsewhere, prosecutors in Paris confirmed that French authorities killed Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected ringleader of last Friday's terrorist attacks, in a pre-dawn raid on Wednesday. On Monday, the euro fell sharply in the first full day of trading following the attacks, which claimed the lives of more than 120 civilians and wounded at least 350. Major geopolitical events such as terrorist attacks or natural disasters can typically impact markets on a short-term basis before conditions stabilize shortly after.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, fell as much as 0.70% to an intraday low of 98.80, before closing at 99.06. On Wednesday, the index reached a fresh seven-month at 99.97.