Euro jumps in wake of ECB meeting

The euro appreciated against the majority of its peers last week as the single currency was propelled higher due to a combination of USD weakness and optimism from the European Central Bank (ECB).

The euro found some solid gains in the first half of last week as markets reacted positively to the Eurozone’s latest economic data. 

Tuesday’s Eurozone consumer confidence reading gave the single currency an initial boost as the latest reading revealed that household sentiment across the bloc is at its highest level since August 2000.

The euro was able to build on these gains again on Wednesday as the Eurozone’s first PMI figures of the year showed the private sector was expanding at its fastest pace in over eleven years.

However, the euro saw its most notable gains last week in the wake of the ECB’s first policy meeting of the year.

While Thursday’s meeting didn’t lead to any changes in monetary policy, markets latched on to Mario Draghi’s comments, with the single currency jumping as the ECB President appeared optimistic in his outlook for inflation.

The euro may advance further during this week’s session, with the Eurozone’s latest GDP figures expected to show that the bloc expanded at the fastest pace in over a decade.

EUR may still face a couple of hurdles however as economists forecast this week’s CPI figures will show inflation slumped to a six-month low in January.