Euro Rises Ahead Of ECB Minutes

The euro strengthened against most major currencies in the early European session on Thursday, as traders await the release of the European Central Bank's minutes of the monetary policy meeting in September, due later in the day.

The minutes could provide more insights regarding Governing Council's discussion of additional stimulus, given slowing global growth and low inflation.

Moreover, U.S. jobless claims figures, the minutes from the Fed's September meeting and speeches from Fed officials John Williams, James Bullard and Narayana Kocherlakota are also largely awaited for further clues on the outlook for Fed policy.

Although the currency trimmed some of its gains after after weak German data, it climbed back in a short while.

Data from Destatis showed that Germany's exports declined at the fastest pace in more than six years in August. Exports plunged by seasonally adjusted 5.2 percent month-on-month in August, reversing a 2.2 percent rise in July. This was the biggest decline since January 2009, when it slid 6.9 percent. At the same time, imports dropped 3.1 percent, in contrast to a 2.3 percent rise seen a month ago.

The trade surplus decreased to around EUR 19.6 billion from EUR 22.4 billion in July.

In Greece, the nation's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipiras won the confidence vote, targeting to pass his key reform laws to revive the economy ahead of a crucial first review of its international bailout.

In the Asian session today, the euro held steady against its major rivals.

In the early European trading, the euro rose to a 6-day high of 1.1309 against the U.S. dollar, from an early low of 1.1234. If the euro extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around the 1.15 area.

Against the pound, the yen and the NZ dollar, the euro advanced to 0.7379, 135.36 and 1.7124 from early lows of 0.7334, 134.72 and 1.6953, respectively. The euro may test resistance near 0.74 against the pound, 136.00 against the yen and 1.75 against the kiwi.

Against the Australian and the Canadian dollars, the euro climbed to a 2-day high of 1.5761 and a 3-day high of 1.4761 from early lows of 1.5575 and 1.4667, respectively. On the upside, 1.60 against the aussie and 1.50 against the loonie are seen as the next resistance levels for the euro.

Meanwhile, the euro fell to 1.0915 against the Swiss franc, from an early 9-day high of 1.0948. The euro is likely to find support around the 1.08 region.

Data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs or SECO showed that Switzerland's unemployment rate rose in September in line with economists' expectations. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate climbed to 3.4 percent from 3.3 percent in August.

Looking ahead, in the European session, the Bank of England will announce its interest rate decision at 7:00 am ET. Economists expect the bank to retain interest rates unchanged at 0.50 percent and asset purchase target at GBP 375 billion.

Half-an-hour later, European Central Bank minutes of the September monetary policy meeting is slated for release.

In the New York session, Canada housing starts for September and house price index for August and U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended October 3, are set to be released.

At 9:30 am ET, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard gives welcome remarks before the Children's Saving Account Symposium hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

At 2:00 pm ET, Federal Reserve releases minutes from September 16-17 FOMC meeting.

At the same time, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney will participate in a panel discussion about the global economy at the International Monetary Fund meeting, in Lima.

At 3:30 pm ET, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams is expected to speak about the economic outlook at the Spokane Business and Community Leaders' Luncheon, in San Francisco.