“The euro rose toward a 14-month high against the dollar amid speculation European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will signal optimism about growth rather than concern at the currency’s strength at a news conference.
The 17-nation euro gained versus all its major counterparts as the ECB executive’s committee kept interest rates on hold today after reports over the past month showed investor and economic sentiment in the region improved. The pound rallied as Bank of England Governor-designate Mark Carney said the central bank must exit extraordinary measures, that tend to weaken the currency. New Zealand’s dollar fell after a government report showed employers cut jobs last quarter.
“There’s some speculative euro buying,” said Lee Hardman, a currency strategist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in London. Draghi “could acknowledge that the leading indicators have been pointing toward economic recovery.”
The euro advanced 0.3 percent to $1.3562 at 12:50 p.m. in London after rising to $1.3711 on Feb. 1, the strongest level since Nov. 14, 2011. The currency gained 0.3 percent to 127.03 yen after climbing to 127.71 yesterday, the highest since April 2010. The yen was little changed at 93.64 per dollar.
The ECB kept its benchmark rate at a record-low 0.75 percent today as forecast by all 60 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Draghi will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. Frankfurt time to explain the decision….”
