Euro rose in European trade against dollar for seventh straight session, hitting fresh nine-month highs amid bullish ECB remarks and prospects for a 0.5% rate hike at both the February and March meetings.
The greenback fell to eight-month lows ahead of US GDP data for the fourth quarter, expected to bolster the case for a slower pace of policy tightening by the Federal Reserve.
EUR/USD rose 0.15% to 1.0929, the highest since April 21, with a session-low at 1.0906, after closing up 0.3% yesterday, the sixth profit in a row, and the longest such streak in nearly a year as concerns about a policy gap between the US and Europe fade.
ECB
ECB President Christine Lagarde said recently that inflation remains too high and the bank is committed to continuously increase interest rates until inflation is brought back to 2%.
Lagarde once again repeated the use of the phrase "staying the course" when talking about interest rate decisions at upcoming meetings, meaning the current pace will be maintained at least until the second quarter of the year.
Other ECB members strongly hinted at multiple 0.5% rate hikes in both February and March.
The Dollar
The dollar index fell 0.1% on Thursday, sharpening the decline for the third straight session and plumbing eight-month lows at 101.50 against a basket of major rivals.
It comes ahead of important US GDP growth data for the fourth quarter of 2022, which might bolster the case for a reduced 0.25% rate hike by the Fed next week.