The euro boosted by 0.4% versus the U.S. dollar to $1.2153

The euro boosted on Thursday after the ECB stuck to its monetary policy. The expectation of a massive U.S. stimulus package fuelled market optimism and weakened demand for safe-haven currencies like the greenback. The euro boosted by 0.4% versus the American currency. It traded at $1.2153 a few minutes after the European Central Bank lefts its ultra-easy policy same as anticipated.

The U.S. dollar is likely to continue its downtrend trend. This is according to the annalists that witnessed it lose approximately 7% in 2020 amid ultra-loose U.S. monetary policy and optimism for a global recovery.

The U.S. dollar index declined by 0.24% and settled at 90.194. It fell for a third straight day after hitting a nearly one-month record at 90.956 on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Norwegian crown increased by 0.8% against the U.S. dollar and settled at 8.4268. This comes after the country’s central bank announced it planned to raise rates early next year as the economy rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Furthermore, the British pound hit two and a half year high against the greenback and a new 8-month record versus the euro on Thursday. The gain was supported by hopes that the U.K.’s brisk pace of coronavirus vaccinations would lead to a relatively quick recovery in economic growth.

The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy unchanged

On Thursday, the greenback also declined by 0.1%. It settled at 103.460 yen, after falling to a two-week low of 103.33.

The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy unchanged on Thursday. At the same time, they had been revising up its economic forecast for the next fiscal year.

Additionally, the Australian dollar gained 0.3% and settled at 77.71 U.S. cents. Australia boasted another substantial rise in employment in December.

The greenback fell by 0.06% versus the Canadian dollar and settled at C$1.2628 after the Bank of Canada decided not to cut interest rates.

On Thursday, the world’s dominant cryptocurrency Bitcoin fell by 10% to a 10-day low retreating further from record levels.