Euro Falls On ECB's Dovish Stance On Rates

The euro weakened against its major counterparts in the European session on Friday, as European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde appeared to push back against market expectations that growing price pressures could lead to a rate hike by next year.

At her press conference in Frankfurt, Lagarde said that although the current phase of higher inflation would last longer than originally expected, the Governing Council expects it to decline in the course of next year.

"Our analysis certainly does not support that the conditions of our forward guidance are satisfied at the time of liftoff as expected by markets, nor any time soon thereafter," Lagarde told reporters on Thursday.

The money markets are pricing in the probability of a 20-basis point hike by December 2022, but Lagarde said that view is at odds with the bank's economic outlook.

Flash data from Eurostat showed that Eurozone inflation accelerated sharply to the highest since 2008 on higher energy prices.

Inflation rose to 4.1 percent in October from 3.4 percent in September. This was also faster than the economists' forecast of 3.7 percent. A similar higher rate was last registered in July 2008.

The euro weakened to more than a 1-year low of 1.0612 against the franc, from a high of 1.0655 hit at 8 pm ET. The euro is poised to challenge support around the 1.03 mark.

The euro dropped to 0.8446 against the pound, 1.1645 against the greenback and 132.40 against the yen, off its prior highs of 0.8473 and 1.1690 and an 8-day high of 132.92, respectively. The next possible support for the euro is seen around 0.83 against the pound, 1.13 against the greenback and 130.00 against the yen.

The euro edged down to 1.4365 against the loonie, 1.6206 against the kiwi and 1.5448 against the aussie, pulling back from its previous 2-day high of 1.4442, 4-day highs of 1.6286 and 1.5526, respectively. The euro is seen finding support around 1.42 against the loonie, 1.59 against the kiwi and 1.51 against the aussie.

Looking ahead, Canada GDP data for August and industrial product price index for September, as well as U.S. personal income and spending data for the same month and University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index for October are scheduled for release in the New York session.