European session review: EUR mixed, following higher-than-expected PPI data out of Germany, ECB chief economist Lane's comments

EUR traded mixed against its major rivals in the European session on Thursday as investors digested U.S. Federal Reserve’s hints at near-term discussions to trim monthly bond purchases and higher-than-expected factory-gate inflation data out of Germany.

The minutes from April's meeting of the Federal Reserve hinted that at considering tapering its asset purchase programs in upcoming meetings. This triggered a broad-based decline in the U.S. dollar. 

Meanwhile, hotter-than-expected inflation data out of Germany, the EU's biggest economy, lifted concerns about accelerating inflation and the potential reaction of the ECB. Destatis reported producer prices in Germany climbed 5.2 percent y/y in April, accelerating from a 3.7 percent y/y jump in March. Economists had forecast a growth of 5.1 percent y/y. This was the biggest gain since September 2011. On a monthly basis, however, producer price inflation eased slightly to 0.8 percent in April from 0.9 percent in the previous month. This was in line with forecasts.

The ECB's chief economist Philip Lane, however, reiterated a dovish stance, stating that he doesn't see an environment in the Eurozone for persistent inflation. According to Lane, a lot of the inflation rise now is the unwinding of the downside shocks of the last year. He also added that the ECB still has a “lot of work to do” to raise inflation to 2%.