The euro fell against the dollar on Thursday after the European Central Bank (ECB) meeting, which kept its monetary policy unchanged as expected.
The ECB is maintaining its accommodating stance but will face questions between now and its next meeting in June about the gradual withdrawal of its support to accompany the economic recovery in the eurozone.
The amount of the 1,850-billion-euro envelope allocated to securities purchases under the “pandemic emergency purchase program” (PEPP) remains unchanged while the refinancing rate remains at zero and the deposit facility rate at -0.5%.
Purchases under the PEPP will continue in the current quarter at a significantly higher pace than in the first few months of the year, the statement issued after Thursday's meeting said. The ECB added that it will continue its asset purchases under the PEPP until it judges that the coronavirus crisis is over.
Investors expect, however, that it will gradually withdraw some of this support with the economic rebound expected in the second half of the year thanks to the progress of the vaccination campaigns.
Since the beginning of the month, the euro has appreciated by 2.5% against the dollar but remains down 1.6% since the beginning of the year against the greenback, which is benefiting from the faster vaccination campaign in the United States and the investments made by Washington to boost the economy.
In addition, U.S. jobless claims continued to fall last week, reaching a new low since the beginning of the health crisis, a further sign of the economic recovery underway in the country.
Between April 11 and 17, 547,000 people registered for unemployment, the Labor Department announced Thursday, down from 586,000 the previous week.
(Chart Source: Tradingview 22.04.2021)
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