The euro extended its slide against most major opponents in New York trading on Thursday, after minutes from the European Central Bank's most recent monetary policy meeting highlighted that heightened uncertainty about the growth prospects of emerging market economies and impact of low crude oil prices could further deteriorate inflationary outlook.
"Downside risks had increased again since the beginning of the current year, amid heightened uncertainty about the growth prospects of emerging market economies, volatility in financial markets and geopolitical risk," the ECB said in the minutes of the January 20-21 meeting.
"Weaker than anticipated growth in wages, in conjunction with declining inflation expectations, could also signal increased risks of second-round effect," it showed.
The ECB's Governing Council is ready to "review and possibly reconsider" its policy in March, when the ECB's staff macroeconomic projections are made available.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development downgraded its economic growth projections saying achieving strong growth remains elusive with a modest recovery in advanced economies.
In the Interim Economic Outlook, the OECD downgraded its global growth outlook for 2016 to 3 percent from 3.3 percent and that for next year to 3.3 percent from 3.6 percent. In other economic news, data from the ECB showed that the euro area current account surplus declined in December as the surplus on trade in goods and services dropped from prior month.
The current account surplus fell to EUR 25.5 billion from EUR 26.9 billion in November.
The euro has been trading weaker against its major rivals in European deals.
The single currency weakened to 1.1078 against the greenback, its lowest since February 4. The euro-greenback pair is likely to find support around the 1.09 zone.
Data released by the Labor Department showed that first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly decreased in the week ended February 13th.
The report said initial jobless claims fell to 262,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 269,000. The drop surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to rise to 275,000.
The 19-nation currency declined to a weekly low of 126.08 against the yen, off its early high of 127.16. The euro is seen finding support around the 125.00 mark.
Japan posted a merchandise trade deficit of 645.943 billion yen in January, according to a report from the Ministry of Finance.
That beat forecasts for a shortfall of 648.3 billion yen following the 140.3 billion yen surplus in December.
The euro remained lower at 1.1030 against the Swiss franc, following a high of 1.1054 hit at 5:20 am ET. On the downside, 1.08 is possibly seen as the next support level for the euro-franc pair.
Data from the Federal Customs Administration showed that the Swiss trade surplus increased to a 3-month high in January.
The trade surplus rose to CHF 3.5 billion in January from CHF 2.6 billion in December. This was the highest since October, when surplus totaled CHF 4.1 billion.
The common currency fell to a 2-day low of 0.7707 against the pound, after having advanced to 0.7817 at 2:00 am ET. Continuation of the euro's downtrend may take it to a support around the 0.76 level.
Extending early slide, the euro hit more than a 2-week low of 1.5141 against the loonie. This may be compared to Wednesday's closing quote of 1.5210. The euro is poised to challenge support around the 1.50 mark.
The euro stayed in a negative territory against the aussie, trading at 1.5488, off its early high of 1.5615. If the euro-aussie pair extends slide, it may locate support around the 1.54 region.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that Australia's unemployment rate jumped to 6.0 percent in January.
That compared to forecasts for 5.8 percent, which would have been unchanged from the December reading.
The euro fell back against the kiwi with the pair trading at 1.6727, heading to pierce its early near a 2-week low of 1.6703. The euro is likely to find support near the 1.66 area.
Data from the Statistics New Zealand showed that NZ's producer price inputs slipped 1.2 percent on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2015, following the 1.6 percent increase in the third quarter.
PPI outputs dipped 0.8 percent on quarter after advancing 1.3 percent in the three months prior.
Looking ahead, U.S. leading indicators for January and U.S. crude oil inventories data are due shortly.
At 3:30 pm ET, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams is expected to speak on the economic outlook before a Town Hall Los Angeles event.
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April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.