Euro plunges nearly 1% after Draghi's speech

Euro tumbled nearly one percent in American trade against the dollar, following a spate of data from Germany, the euro zone's largest economy, and after Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley spoke about workforce development at Onondaga Community College, in Syracuse, and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's testimony ahead of the European Parliament. 

As of 04:34 GMT, EUR/USD slid 0.77% to 1.1859 from the opening of 1.1915, with an intraday high at 1.1937, and the lowest since September 14 at 1.1853. 

Earlier, European Central Bank member Yves Mersch said that the ECB will alter its monetary policy tools if needed, noting that since the start of the assets purchase program, the ECB never encountered a shortage of available bonds to purchase.

Earlier German data showed the Ifo Business Climate survey down unexpectedly in September as markets price in the timid election victory for Chancellor Angela Merker's Conservative Democrats, even though it was the worst performance since 1949, as the Far Right made big inroads on an anti-immigrant platform.  

Otherwise, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pointed in his testimony today about the economy and monetary policy before the European Parliament Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, in Brussels, to the importance of seeing the impact of economic recovery on the region's inflation, noting that recent economic recovery has gained more momentum and strength on the back of improved regional conditions. 

Moving to the US, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley spoke about workforce development at Onondaga Community College, in Syracuse, where he noted that the economy is in "good position" and the Fed will move on with its policy tightening plans, after the Federal Open Market Committee voted to hold interest rates steady last week between 1.00% and 1.25%. 

The FOMC wants to cut its monetary holdings gradually by reinvesting them through the open market system, while expecting the treasury bill sales to reach $6 billion at the start of the process, while rising to $30 billion a month in 12 months.

As for mortgage-backed security sales, they will start at $4 billion and advance to $20 billion a month after a year of the process. 

In her post-meeting press conference, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that gradual increases for interest rates are still on the table, noting that an inflation slowdown this week doesn't reflect the overall economic developments and shouldn't be considered a risk. 

Yellen said the FOMC will continue monitoring inflation and labor data, noting that if the data diverted too much from the Committee's projections, it will take the necessary decisions to mend the situation, while adding that she expected the inflation softening to be transient.  

Later today, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans will speak about economic conditions and monetary policy at The Economic Club of Grand Rapids Luncheon Meeting, while Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari will speak about the Federal Reserve at a town hall event hosted by the University of North Dakota.