Euro Slightly Higher On Weak Dollar

The euro made some gains against the dollar on Thursday after the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes highlighted the bank’s concerns about the U.S. economy. 

The common currency traded at $1.2757 at 7:30 GMT despite the region’s weakening economic data.

Meeting minutes from the U.S. central bank’s September 16 and 17 policy meeting revealed that the bank was worried about raising interest rates too soon as waning global economic growth and a strong U.S. dollar could keep inflation low and hinder the U.S. economy’s forward progress. 

The Wall Street Journal reported that Fed officials discussed the impact of weak economic growth in Europe, China and Japan on the nation’s exports, and reduced their medium term growth projections for the U.S. economy to reflect their concerns.

The minutes surprised as most saw the bank discussing a rate cut in early to mid 2015.

Economic data from the U.S. has been strong recently with the job market making major strides over the past few months. However, pressure from outside the U.S. could keep rates low as officials fight to keep inflation from falling.

The dollar tumbled following the minutes’ release, opening the door for the euro to gain some strength after weeks of struggling. The common currency has been consistently lower as economic data from the bloc has indicated that the region could be headed for another technical recession.

This week, industrial production data from the eurozone disappointed with German industrial output falling 4 percent in August, and Spain releasing its weakest industrial production growth figure in nearly a year.