The euro continued to climb against the dollar after the Federal Reserve's policy meeting minutes disappointed.
The common currency traded at $1.3845 as the minutes contained no discussion about the length of time it would take to implement an interest rate hike, despite investors' hopes.
At its March 19 policy meeting, the Fed announced that it was planning to hold off on increasing interest rates for a “considerable time” after it finished its asset buying program.
In her news conference following the meeting, Fed Chair Janet Yellen defined a “considerable time” as around six months. Since then, the dollar has been on the rise as investors anticipated the possibility of an increase next year.
However, the meeting minutes show that Yellen's comment could have been an offhand remark, as there were no discussions about timing throughout the course of the meeting. The dollar sunk back as investors unwound their positions and revised their expectations of a rate hike to the end of 2015.
The euro's return to strength is troubling for many who believe the strong currency could help push the bloc's inflation rate even lower.
Bloomberg reported that Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and French Prime Minister Manuel Valls spoke out about the problems stemming from a strong euro and criticized the ECB for not stepping in this month. Both nations are attempting to return to steady growth and pay off massive debts, but the rising euro is making it difficult for the two to remain competitive in the global market.
The remarks speak to the growing pressure on the ECB to stimulate the bloc's economy. Since 2012, the euro has risen to $1.38 from $1.21 and inflation has fallen far below the bank's two percent target.
In March, eurozone inflation was at 0.5 percent, which has caused many to worry that the bloc could slip into a period of deflation.