Euro Rallies on ECB Rate Decision and High US Jobless Claims

The  euro today held on  to  its gains after the  European Central Bank announced its interest rate decision, which was in  line with analysts expectations. The  EUR/USD currency pair extended its bullish trend during the  ECB Governor’s speech, which was relatively hawkish.
The EUR/USD currency pair today rallied from an initial low of 1.1800 during the Australian session to a high of 1.1893 during Lagarde’s speech and was headed higher at the time of writing.
The  currency pair’s initial gains were driven by  positive investor sentiment ahead of  the  ECB announcement as  the  dollar remained weak. The  release of  the  Italian industrial production report for  July by  Istat also contributed to  the  pair’s rally; the  print came in  at  7.4% versus the  expected 3.5%. The  pair rallied higher after the  ECB Governing Council announced released its monetary policy decisions. The  pair extended its gains during Christine Lagarde’s speech after she said that the  bank was not considering measures to  contain the  euro’s recent rally.  
The  release of  the  latest US jobless claims report by  the  Department of  Labor also contributed to  the  pair’s rally as  the  print came in  at  884,000 initial claims versus the  consensus estimate of  846,000 claims. The  upbeat US producer price index report released by  the  Bureau of  Labor Statistics could not stop the  single currencies rally.
The  currency pair’s future performance is likely to  be affected by  tomorrow’s eurozone and  US inflation reports.
The EUR/USD currency pair was trading at 1.1894 as at 13:32 GMT, having rallied from a low of 1.1800. The EUR/JPY currency pair was trading at 126.17, having risen from a low of 125.33.
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