The dollar fell against its major rivals on Thursday, as the euro jumped during Mario Draghi's press conference as the European Central Bank head suggested it was less necessary to prop up the market through ultra-loose monetary policy.
Draghi said the ECB removed a reference to using all available measures to induce growth and inflation "because the sense of urgency is not there." The Governing Council had also discussed removing a reference to lowering interest rates in its forward guidance and had increased its inflation and growth profile for the euro zone next year, he added.
EUR/USD spiked to 1.0615 while Draghi delivered his remarks, reversing earlier selling that had brought it to a six-day low. It closed around 1.0575 up more than 0.3 percent.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against the euro and five other major world currencies, slumped to a session low of 101.700 as Draghi spoke.
Expectations for a U.S. interest rate hike surpassed 90 percent this week following Wednesday's release of a private-sector payrolls report showing employers added 298,000 jobs in February and hawkish statements from Federal Reserve officials. USD/JPY is up to 115.45 ahead of the jobs report.
Oil- and commodity-linked currencies were under pressure as oil slipped more than 5 percent lower. The Canadian, Australian and New Zealand dollars and the Norwegian crown all slumped to multi-week lows against the greenback.
