Draghi Delivers a Positive Outlook for Eurozone

The euro traded at $1.32 on Friday morning after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi addressed the public with a hopeful message about the future of the eurozone. The bank's monthly policy meeting on Thursday concluded without any major changes as was expected. Bloomberg reported that following the meeting, Draghi told reporters that recent promising economic indicators have shown that the region has turned a corner in its longest ever recession. The economy's improvement has many believing that the worst is over for the eurozone, but Draghi was careful to stress that the bank was not planning to tighten its monetary policies anytime soon. Draghi acknowledged that the bloc still has a long way to go before it returns to growth, with unemployment being a key factor holding back the economy's success. Official data published on Wednesday showed the eurozone's unemployment was holding firmly at 12.1 percent with a total of 19 million people out of work. At the bank's last policy meeting, Draghi offered forward guidance, something the bank historically hasn't done. This month, he told investors looking for further guidance that the bank hasn't discussed fixed targets or timelines, but he did reveal that the bank doesn't foresee rate increases in money markets anytime soon. Draghi also addressed the idea of publishing the bank's meeting minutes soon after the meeting's close in an effort to make the bank more transparent. However, some members of the Governing Council are opposed to the idea, saying that such transparency would lead to some members making decisions that are in their national government's interest rather than the eurozone as a whole. Although the idea was discussed at Thursday's meeting, no formal proposal to publicize the meetings is expected until the fall.