- ECB extends bond purchase program to December
- Euro on track for biggest daily drop vs dollar since October
- Fed seen raising U.S. rates twice more in 2018 -Reuters poll
(Updates market action, changes dateline; previous LONDON)
The euro fell broadly on Thursday as the European Central Bank planned to keep interest rates at record lows into the summer of 2019 and extended its massive bond purchase program into year-end.
The ECB's move to protract monetary stimulus came amid jitters about slowing growth in the euro zone, political turmoil in Italy and global trade tension, analysts said.
"We didn't discuss when to raise rates," ECB President Mario Draghi said at a press conference following the central bank's policy meeting.
This stance contrasts with the steady rate-hike campaign that the Federal Reserve signaled on Wednesday.
The ECB's willingness to preserve easy money to help its economy soured bullish bets on the single currency and caused traders to pile into the dollar and yen.
"The market was caught wrong-footed as the rates would be on hold into mid-2019," said Peter Ng, senior currency trader at Silicon Valley Bank at Santa Clara, California.
At 11:08 a.m. (1508 GMT), the euro EUR= shed 1.2 percent at $1.1645 after briefly posting its steepest daily drop against the dollar in nearly two years.
Against the Japanese yen, the single currency slid 1.3 percent to 128.45 yen EURJPY= for its biggest one-day fall in over two weeks.
Investors now price just a 30 percent chance of a 10 basis point rate hike by July 2019, compared with a roughly 80 percent chance earlier in the day. ECBWATCH
On the other hand, the U.S. central bank is expected to raise short-term interest rates twice more in 2018 and likely to lift them three times in 2019, according to a Reuters poll.
On Wednesday, the Fed, as expected, raised short-term rates by a quarter point to a range of between 1.75 and 2.00 percent.
"There's obviously a divergence where rates are heading," Ng said. "This makes the dollar a lot more attractive to global investors."
======================================================== Currency bid prices at 11:09AM (1509 GMT)Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1649 $1.1789 -1.19% +0.00% +1.1851 +1.1619 Dollar/Yen JPY= 110.2800 110.3200 -0.04% +0.00% +110.4400 +109.9200 Euro/Yen EURJPY= 128.47 130.09 -1.25% +0.00% +130.3400 +128.3500 Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9925 0.9855 +0.71% +0.00% +0.9948 +0.9826 Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.3333 1.3374 -0.31% +0.00% +1.3446 +1.3305 Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3030 1.2984 +0.35% +0.00% +1.3041 +1.2950 Australian/Doll AUD= 0.7533 0.7576 -0.57% +0.00% +0.7582 +0.7528 arEuro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.1563 1.1617 -0.46% +0.00% +1.1648 +1.1558 Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8735 0.8814 -0.90% +0.00% +0.8821 +0.8731 NZ Dollar/Dolar NZD= 0.7015 0.7023 -0.11% +0.00% +0.7044 +0.7011 Dollar/Norway NOK= 8.0765 8.0077 +0.86% +0.00% +8.0949 +7.9790 Euro/Norway EURNOK= 9.4130 9.4446 -0.33% +0.00% +9.4691 +9.3993 Dollar/Sweden SEK= 8.6746 8.6060 -0.41% +0.00% +8.7261 +8.5800 Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.1067 10.1479 -0.41% +0.00% +10.1925 +10.0989 <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ World FX rates in 2018 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVhECB bond buys vs inflation http//reut.rs/2M7eKKV
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