European session review: EUR mixed with focus on today’s ECB meeting

EUR traded mixed against other major currencies in the European session on Thursday, as investors focused on today’s ECB policy meeting, the outcome of which could be the decision to reduce emergency asset purchases.

The single European currency rose against USD and CAD, declined against JPY, CHF and GBP, and changed little against AUD and NZD.

The European central bank will announce the outcomes of its September meeting today at 11:45 GMT, including its decisions on the interest rates and the pace of the pandemic emergency bond-buying (PEPP) purchases for the fourth quarter. 

Analysts polled by Reuters forecast the pace of the PEPP purchases are likely to be reduced to EUR60 billion a month from the current EUR80 billion, before a further decrease early next year and the program's end in March. At the same time, the interest rates are widely seen to remain unchanged. It is also expected that the ECB will signal ample support for years to come, even after PEPP expires. Investors also will pay attention to the ECB’s updated economic projections, which are expected to be revised upwards.

The ECB’s policymaker Robert Holzmann stated on Wednesday that he sees significant inflation risks and that policy could be normalized sooner than expected.