Euro slips as Draghi highlights risks, US CPI helps dollar

NEW YORK: The euro fell on Wednesday as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi underscored the risks facing the euro zone economy, reinforcing bets on possible further stimulus to prevent the region from slipping into recession.

The dollar enjoyed a respite from recent selling as government data showed the biggest one-month jump in US consumer prices in 14 months in March.

"The essence of Draghi's message is 'We are willing to look at all options, but we are not there yet'," said Boris Schlossberg, managing director of BK Asset Management in New York.

"Incoming data continue to be weak, especially for the manufacturing sector ... The slower growth momentum is expected to extend into the current year," Draghi said at a press conference after a meeting where policy-makers left their easy policy unchanged.

He also cited the risks from trade disputes to regional business activity after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on $11 billion worth of European Union goods.

At 11:06 a.m. (1506 GMT), the euro was 0.08% lower at $1.1253 and was down 0.27% at 124.855 yen.

The greenback, which was mainly lifted by the pullback in the euro, was also bolstered by the latest reading of the US consumer price index.

The US government's broadest inflation gauge rose 0.4% in March, the biggest monthly increase since January 2018, while the CPI core rate, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, edged up 0.1%, falling short of the 0.2% gain forecast by analysts polled by Reuters.

The somewhat mixed CPI report soothed worries about price growth fading, but did not dispel the view the Federal Reserve may lower key US interest rates by early 2020, analysts said.

An index that tracks the greenback against a basket of currency was up 0.04% at 97.043.