(Recasts, new throughout; adds analyst quote; changes dateline,
previous LONDON)
By Kate Duguid
NEW YORK, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Despite some optimism from
Mario Draghi's final news conference as president of the
European Central Bank, the euro fell against the dollar on
Thursday, pulled down by business surveys which point to
stagnating economic momentum in the euro zone.
At its policy-making meeting Thursday, the ECB kept interest
rates on hold and left its ultra-easy monetary policy unchanged.
Weak growth across the euro zone notwithstanding, Draghi said
the benefits of loose policy far outweighed the risks and
rejected the suggestion that a public split with policy hawks in
the bank had tainted his legacy. Much of Thursday's focus was on his decision to push through
the open-ended bond-buying scheme that will tie his successor
Christine Lagarde's hands for years to come, despite opposition
from a third of policymakers. Draghi played down the dissent,
pointing out that all moves made in September were backed by
majorities and were once again confirmed by the outcome of this
month's meeting.
Against the dollar, the euro EUR= had rallied after the
ECB's decision and press conference, but it quickly gave up
those gains, weighed down by weak data releases. It was last
0.25% weaker at $1.110.
"We came into the morning thinking that there would be a bit
more optimism than usual from Draghi as it is his last meeting,
and we didn't think he would want to end his tenure on a
downbeat note," said Thierry Wizman, global interest rates and
currencies strategist at Macquarie Group.
"We detected some optimism towards the end of the press
conference which is why the euro rallied at around 9 a.m. ET.
And then it sold off. There was no news in the pipeline to help
it stay up."
Business weakness in the euro zone was reaffirmed on
Thursday when IHS Markit's flash composite purchasing managers'
index for October, seen as a good guide to economic health, came
in below forecasts and perilously close to the line separating
growth from contraction. The U.S. dollar was stronger on the euro's move, in spite of
weak domestic data released Thursday morning. The dollar index
.DXY was up 0.18% to 97.663.
New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods fell more than
expected in September and shipments also declined, a sign that
business investment remains weak amid the continuing fallout
from the U.S.-China trade war. However, another report on Thursday showed the number of
Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits
unexpectedly fell last week, pointing to a tight jobs market
even as hiring and economic growth has slowed.