European Central Bank president Mario Draghi’s comments following Thursday’s Governing Council meeting that QE decisions will be revealed in October sent the euro up above the 1.20 mark, tamping down concern that the rising euro would push the bank to kick the can even further on rolling back stimulus.
“We will announce when we are ready. We think we are going to be ready for much of what we have to decide in October … if we are not then we postpone,” Draghi said, signaling to traders that asset purchases will likely be lowered from the current level of 60 billion euros per month starting next year.
Bloomberg reports that the dollar has extended its slide as jobless data in the US, along with an increasingly uncertain Federal Reserve outlook are weighing on any positive sentiment from the US debt ceiling extension. As we reported earlier today, the debt ceiling deal reached between Trump and Democrats may be less of a blessing than a curse if it complicates the outlook for tax reform.