European session review: EUR slips as investors await ECB's policy update and U.S. key inflation data

EUR fell slightly against most of its major rivals in the European session on Thursday as investors patiently awaited the announcement of the ECB's monetary policy decision and the release of the U.S. crucial inflation data for May.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is scheduled to announce its latest policy decision at 11:45 GMT. Markets do not expect the Bank to make any changes in the pace of its bond purchases or record-low interest rates, despite rising inflation concerns.

The May data on U.S. consumer prices, set to be released at 12:30 GMT, is expected to help determine whether the Federal Reserve might begin policy tightening sooner than planned.  The Fed’s policymakers have continued to reassure the markets that any jumps in inflation as the U.S. economy rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic will be transitory. This thesis is to be tested by today’s CPI readings. Economists forecast the headline CPI rose 4.7% y/y in May, following a 4.2% climb in the previous month that was the highest in nearly 13 years. There are worries that the hotter-than-expected inflation data could cause the Fed to pare back its bond-buying program and the prospects of interest rate hikes in the U.S.