Euro Up As ECB Tempers Rate Cut Bets

(RTTNews) - The euro firmed against its major counterparts in the New York session on Thursday, as the European Central Bank left its key interest unchanged and President Christine Lagarde said that policymakers "did not discuss rate cuts" during the meeting.

The Governing Council held the main refinancing rate, or refi, at 4.50 percent in the final rate-setting session this year.

The deposit facility rate was kept at a record high 4.00 percent and the lending rate was held at 4.75 percent.

"Based on its current assessment, the Governing Council considers that the key ECB interest rates are at levels that, maintained for a sufficiently long duration, will make a substantial contribution to this goal," the ECB said.

"The Governing Council's future decisions will ensure that its policy rates will be set at sufficiently restrictive levels for as long as necessary."

During the press conference, Lagarde said that ECB officials should absolutely not lower their guard, adding they did not discuss rate cuts today.

"Between hikes and cuts, there is a plateau of hold."

The euro climbed to a fresh 2-week high of 1.0997 against the greenback and near a 2-week high of 0.9545 against the franc, from yesterday's closing values of 1.0873 and 0.9478, respectively. The euro is seen finding resistance around 1.12 against the greenback and 0.98 against the franc.

The euro touched 1.4764 against the loonie, its highest level since December 1. If the currency rises further, it may locate resistance around the 1.49 level.

The euro rose to 156.01 against the yen and 1.7738 against the kiwi, from an early 1-week low of 153.85 and nearly a 6-month low of 1.7451, respectively. The euro may find resistance around 157.00 against the yen and 1.80 against the kiwi.

The euro recovered to 0.8626 against the pound, after falling to 0.8586 in the previous session. This may be compared to near a 2-week high of 0.8634 seen at 3:30 am ET. On the upside, 0.88 is likely seen as its next resistance level.

The euro touched a 2-week high of 1.6420 against the aussie, up from an early nearly 6-month low of 1.6207. It is likely to locate resistance around the 1.68 level.