Euro jumps after central bank stimulus, rate cut

BRUSSELS

The euro reached its highest level against the U.S. dollar in six years on Friday after the European Central Bank (ECB) announced an interest rate cut and the extension of its stimulus program.

Thursday’s announcement saw the euro jump 3.4 percent to more than 1.09 against the dollar, an increase that held on Friday. The Turkish lira held at about 2.89 against the U.S. currency.

The ECB cut its key rate for deposits held at the central bank to 0.3 percent from 0.2 percent and also announced it would extend its stimulus program, which injects about 60 billion euros ($65.25 billion) each month into markets, until March 2017 and possibly beyond. The program had been due to end in September 2016.

The euro's rise came as markets expressed disappointment with the ECB announcement. They had expected a deeper cut in rates and an increase in stimulus spending.

“The short squeeze in the currency pair tells us that investors were hoping for more - they wanted the ECB to lower the deposit rate by 20 basis points and to increase the amount of bonds purchased in the stimulus program,” analyst Kathy Lien said in a note on investing.com.

BRUSSELS

The euro reached its highest level against the U.S. dollar in six years on Friday after the European Central Bank (ECB) announced an interest rate cut and the extension of its stimulus program.

Thursday’s announcement saw the euro jump 3.4 percent to more than 1.09 against the dollar, an increase that held on Friday. The Turkish lira held at about 2.89 against the U.S. currency.

The euro's rise came as markets expressed disappointment with the ECB announcement. They had expected a deeper cut in rates and an increase in stimulus spending.