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The dollar was also hurt by a media report which flagged the risks of a US downgrade, traders said.
The euro rose to a session high of $1.2562 on trading platform EBS, up from around $1.2540 before news emerged that Draghi was not going to attend the Jackson Hole conference due to a heavy workload. It struck a seven-week high of $1.2590 on Aug 23.
"There's talk of a downgrade for the US, although we haven't seen anything concrete on that yet," said a London-based FX trader, who also cited buying by Middle East investors that triggered stops at $1.2555-60.
Another trader said the news that Draghi was not attending the Jackson Hole conference also kept a bid on the euro.