Investing.com - The euro was close to recent lows against the dollar and the yen on Monday as investors waited to see if the European Central Bank would embark on an outright quantitative easing program on Thursday.
EUR/USD was at 1.1578, not far from Thursday’s lows of 1.1459, the weakest since November 2003.
The euro has been pressured lower by mounting expectations that the ECB will launch a government bond-buying program at its meeting on Thursday, in a bid to stave off the threat of deflation in the euro area.
An interim ruling last Wednesday, which is likely to be accepted by the European Court of Justice, said the ECB was free to pursue a bond purchasing program without legal challenge.
Last Thursday, the Swiss National Bank abandoned its three-year old 1.20 per euro exchange rate cap in a shock move, signaling that it expects the ECB to act this week.
The move roiled financial markets and saw the Swiss franc strengthen across the board.
EUR/CHF hit record lows of 0.8696 immediately following the move, but has since stabilized at 1.0034.
The safe haven yen remained supported on Monday as last week’s market volatility meant that investors remained risk adverse.
EUR/JPY was down 0.26% to almost three-month lows of 135.53, while USD/JPY eased 0.28% to 117.14.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, dipped to 92.95.
Trade volumes were expected to remain light on Monday, with U.S. markets closed for a holiday.