Eurozone Inflation In Question

The euro maintained its position near $1.25 on Thursday after Wednesday’s release of the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes left investors wanting more insight into the bank’s future plans. The common currency traded at $1.2527 at 7:00 GMT as investors shifted their focus to the European Central Bank and whether or not it will be compelled to make a move in December.

Reuters reported that Italian deputy governor of the Bank of Italy Salvatore Rossi remarked that the region could be nearing deflation and that the ECB will risk losing its credibility if it does not find a way to meet its consumer price targets. Inflation has been a concern for the region for some time, but Rossi’s comments stood out as they were unusually blunt.

Rossi said the most recent inflation figures that showed the region’s inflation rate was just 0.4 percent in October should not be ignored, and that ECB would need to step up its intervention in order to meet its 2 percent target.

Meanwhile, the dollar was flat following the release of the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes as the report had little new information. The minutes revealed that the U.S. central bankers debated whether or not inflation would improve in the coming months and if the economy would be able to hold on to its stability in an uncertain global climate. The data confirmed that the bank is still undecided about when to raise interest rates, but many are still expecting to see the rate hike some time in early 2015.