Investing.com - The euro slipped against the dollar on Thursday after the European Central Bank kept monetary policy on hold and revised up its forecast for growth and inflation, but added that underlying inflation remains subdued.
EUR/USD was at 1.1804 by 09:20 AM ET (14:20 GMT), down 0.19% for the day..
ECB President Mario Draghi confirmed that the bank left interest rates on hold on Thursday and added that it will leave them at current levels for an “extended period of time”.
Draghi said inflation will converge with the ECB’s target in time, though underlying inflation pressures have not yet shown a convincing upturn.
The ECB sees price growth slowly accelerating over the coming years and hitting 1.7% in 2020, Draghi said, below the ECB’s target of close to, but just under, 2%.
Growth next year is now seen at 2.3% versus an earlier 1.8% forecast.
He added that the euro zone still needs “favorable” financing conditions, even though the growth outlook has shown a “significant improvement” since the bank’s last meeting.
Earlier Thursday euro zone data showed that the economy picked up further momentum in at the end of 2017, with December seeing the fastest growth in business activity in almost seven years.
The euro was slightly lower against the pound, with EUR/GBP dipping 0.08% to 0.8807.
The Bank of England left interest rates on hold after its meeting earlier in the day, in a widely anticipated decision, just a month after the first rate hike in nearly a decade.
The BoE said there has been “progress” in negotiations between the UK and Brussels, which has reduced the risk of a disorderly Brexit and is likely to support household and business confidence.