Investing.com - The euro held steady on Thursday after the European Central Bank kept monetary policy unchanged, as traders awaited the bank’s post-policy meeting press conference with President Mario Draghi.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.0981, having fallen to lows of 1.0953 earlier in the session, the weakest level since July 25.
The ECB left interest rates across the euro zone unchanged at record lows of zero and the deposit facility remained at -0.4%.
The marginal lending facility rate was also unchanged at 0.25%.
The ECB also left its quantitative easing program unchanged, at €80 billion per month.
Investors were looking Mario Draghi for more clarity on the future of the bank’s monetary stimulus program, following recent reports that it could start tapering asset purchases.
But the ECB has downplayed the prospect of slowing asset purchases and Draghi could lay the groundwork for additional easing in December.
The annual rate of inflation in the euro area rose 0.4% in September, but is still well below the ECB’s target of close to, but just below 2%.
Draghi is likely to reinforce the need for monetary stimulus, amid expectations for an extension of its asset purchase program beyond its scheduled end in March.
The dollar remained supported as expectations for a December rate hike by the Federal Reserve remained high.
On Wednesday, New York Fed President William Dudley said the U.S. central bank will likely raise interest rates later this year if the economy remains on its current trajectory.
The euro was higher against the pound and the yen, with EUR/GBP at 0.8953 and EUR/JPY at 113.75.