American focus: The euro fell

The euro fell the most since July against the dollar after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the recent strength of the currency creates a concern that inflation will slow.

The 17-nation euro declined versus all but two of 16 major counterparts as Draghi said after a policy meeting in Frankfurt that the risk to the region’s growth remains on the “downside.”

There are downside risks to inflation “stemming from weaker economic activity and, more recently, the appreciation of the euro exchange rate,” according to a statement of opening remarks from Draghi placed on the ECB’s website. The central bank kept its benchmark rate at a record-low 0.75 percent today.

Draghi said the euro’s exchange rate is in line with its long-term average, though officials will monitor it in case a “sustained” appreciation alters the ECB’s assessment of risks to price stability. Germany’s two-year note yield fell four basis points, or 0.04 percentage point, to 0.17 percent.

The pound rose for a second day versus the euro and the dollar after Carney, the Bank of Canada governor who succeeds Bank of England Governor Mervyn King in July, told lawmakers in London that current monetary policy may be enough to help the economy.

The central bank left its benchmark interest rate at a record-low 0.5 percent and its asset-purchase target unchanged at 375 billion pounds ($589 billion) at a policy meeting today.

New Zealand’s dollar dropped for a second day against the U.S. currency after the statistics bureau said payrolls fell 1 percent in the final three months of 2012. The workforce participation rate declined to the lowest in eight years.