Euro holds at four-month low as market awaits ECB rate decision

The euro is hovering near a four-month low on the expectation the European Central Bank (ECB) will today take steps to tackle the threat of deflation and lacklustre growth in the eurozone.

The currency is currently trading at $1.3606, having fallen steadily over the month of May. It also remains low against sterling at £0.8124. The strength of the euro has been one of the key issues hampering the eurozone recovery in recent months, cancelling out wage cuts and hampering competitiveness for exporters. Most market participants are expecting the ECB to cut its benchmark interest rate in the monetary policy meeting later today as economic data from the region continues to disappoint. The expectations are partly due to lacklustre growth, after the EU's statistics office E...