The euro held steady against its major rivals ahead of the European Central Bank rate decision, which is due to announce at 7:45 am ET.
The European Central Bank is unlikely to either cut rates further from its current record low level or trigger any new unconventional measures at its first rate-setting meeting of the New Year.
The bank headed by Mario Draghi is expected to leave the refinancing rate unchanged at 0.75 percent for a sixth successive month in January.
The deposit rate, which is already at zero, and the marginal lending facility at 1.50 percent are likely to be left untouched. Any reduction in deposit rate will hit the income of ordinary savers.
The euro outperformed strongly against its major counterparts, barring Swiss franc, in most part of Thursday's early European deals. However, the rally was stalled as rate decision looming and market is expecting cues from Draghi's press conference that is scheduled at 8:30 am ET.
The euro was hanging at 1.31 against the US dollar and 115.50 against the yen around 7:40 am ET, having eased slightly from previous session's multi-day highs of 1.3111 and 115.59, respectively.
The common currency that climbed to a 10-day high of 0.8170 against the pound around 5:15 am ET held steady thereafter around the 0.8160 area. The euro-franc pair moved sideways Thursday, trading in a narrow range of 1.2087 and 1.2094.
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May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.