(Bloomberg) -- The euro rose to a five-week high against the dollar as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi gave no indication that policy makers will introduce a negative deposit rate to spur growth.
The single currency appreciated against all of its 16 major counterparts even after the ECB left its benchmark interest rate at a record-low 0.25 percent at a meeting in Frankfurt. The pound weakened for a third day versus the euro as the Bank of England kept interest rates at a record low. A gauge of currency volatility climbed to the highest level in eight weeks. Norway’s krone slid to a four-year low versus the euro
“It’s what Draghi didn’t say that is pushing the euro higher,” said Peter Kinsella, a senior currency strategist at Commerzbank AG in London. “There is no indication of negative deposit rates or further easing.”
The euro advanced 0.3 percent to $1.3634 as of 9:29 a.m. in New York after rising to $1.3651, the strongest level since Oct. 31. The single currency was little changed at 139.11 yen after weakening as much as 0.5 percent. The dollar fell 0.3 percent to 102.05 yen.
JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Global FX Volatility Index increased for a fourth day, rising to 8.81 percent, the highest level since Oct. 10. The gauge has climbed from as low as 7.55 percent on Oct. 28.
Draghi said at a press conference that while the ECB was “technically ready” to cut its deposit rate below zero, the Governing Council only discussed a negative rate “briefly” at its meeting today. The deposit rate is what the ECB charges banks for parking excess cash at the central bank. It is currently set at zero.
Inflation Risks
The ECB now predicts the economy will contract 0.4 percent this year, before expanding 1.1 percent in 2014 and 1.5 percent in 2015. Inflation will average 1.4 percent this year, 1.1 percent in 2014 and 1.3 percent in 2015, the forecasts say.
“Draghi said risk to inflation outlook is broadly balanced,” said Geoffrey Yu, a senior currency strategist at UBS AG in London. “This means they don’t need to react to it. The euro moved higher as a result.”
The euro has gained 7.8 percent this year, the best performer of 10 developed-nation currencies tracked by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes. The dollar appreciated 3.9 percent, while the yen tumbled 13 percent.
The pound weakened from near a two-year high against the dollar after the Bank of England held its benchmark interest rate at 0.5 percent.
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne in his Autumn Statement said U.K. borrowing requirements will decline in the coming years, citing forecasts for stronger growth.
Largely Expected’
“The BOE was no surprise but the minutes will be interesting,” said Neil Jones, head of European hedge-fund sales at Mizuho Bank Ltd. in London. “As for the Autumn Statement, it is full of good news, but largely expected in the market. Pound-dollar is coming out the statement the same as it went it.”
Sterling fell 0.2 percent to $1.6345 after climbing to $1.6443 on Dec. 2, the highest since August 2011. The pound weakened 0.6 percent to 83.46 pence per euro.
Norway’s krone slipped to the lowest level in four years versus the euro after the central bank kept interest rates unchanged and said it will delay plans to raise borrowing costs until the summer of 2015, a year later than previously signaled.
The krone fell 0.6 percent to 8.4137 per euro after sliding to 8.4373, the weakest since December 2009.
