EUR firmed against other major currencies in the European session on Thursday as investors awaited the announcement of the outcomes of the European Central Bank’s March policy meeting later in the day.
The ECB will publish its policy statements at 13:15 GMT, and its president Christine Lagarde will hold a press conference a half-hour later.
Market participants note that the latest euro area’s economic data support the case for the ECB to hike its interest rate by 50 basis points today, as it signaled at the February meeting. However, the financial stability worries, which increased after the recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the U.S. and reports of problems at Credit Suisse, heightened expectations that the ECB might opt for a smaller hike.