The ECB raised its benchmark deposit rate to 0%, breaking its own guidance for a 25 basis points move as it joined global peers in jacking up borrowing costs.
ECB policymakers also agreed to provide extra help for the 19-country currency bloc’s more indebted nations – among them Italy – with a new bond purchase scheme intended to cap the rise in their borrowing costs and so limit financial fragmentation. The euro’s rally is likely to be short-lived, however, given mounting recession risks for the economic bloc, said Michael Brown, head of market intelligence at Caxton in London.
FX traders have also been watching closely developments in Italy, as Prime Minister Mario Draghi resigned on Thursday after his national unity government fell apart, setting the country on course for an early election and hitting financial markets.
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