Euro, bond yields inch down after ECB leaves policy unchanged

LONDON: The euro and euro zone government bond yields ticked lower on Thursday after the European Central Bank kept interest rates at their record lows, leaving its policy stance unchanged.

That was in line with most economists' expectations, though there had been some speculation that the statement could be tweaked to reflect a pick-up in economic growth.

The euro fell to the day's low of $1.0880 after the ECB announcement, down from around $1.0892 beforehand, as traders eyed a press conference with ECB chief Mario Draghi at 1130 GMT.

Euro zone government bond yields ticked lower, with Germany's benchmark 10-year Bund yield down 0.5 basis points at 0.345 percent.

European shares and bank stocks were unmoved by the ECB decision, with the regional STOXX 600 benchmark index remaining down around 0.3 percent and the euro zone bank index staying down 1.4 percent.