The euro moved off from its early highs against its major counterparts in the New York session on Thursday, after the European Central Bank Mario Draghi hinted at the possibility to continue stimulus beyond the scheduled end-date of March 2017 and said the the bank is unlikely to abruptly halt the quantitative easing programme without tapering.

"An abrupt ending to bond purchases, I think, is unlikely," the ECB president said in a press conference in Frankfurt. "We remain committed to preserving a very substantial degree of monetary accommodation."

The Governing Council neither discussed any extension nor tapering of the QE in this policy meeting, Draghi noted.

Although the eurozone economy is on course for "a continued moderate but steady recovery," the indicators available since the September meeting confirmed the need to preserve the very substantial amount of monetary support which is necessary to secure a return of inflation to levels below, but close to, 2 percent without undue delay.

Policymakers prefer to wait for the December 8 meeting, when ECB staff projections for growth and inflation through 2019 will be released, he added.

The Governing Council maintained the refi rate at a record low of zero percent, the deposit rate at -0.40 percent and the marginal lending facility rate at 0.25 percent in the policy session held in Frankfurt.

The euro was trading in a positive territory in the European session, amid the commencement of Draghi's speech.

The euro eased to 0.8940 against the pound, from a 2-day high of 0.9026 hit at 8:45 am ET. On the downside, the euro may locate support around the 0.87 zone.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed U.K. retail sales remained unchanged in September.

There was no change in the sales volume compared with August, while economists had forecast a 0.3 percent increase.

The euro weakened to a 4-month low of 1.0935 against the greenback, following a 6-day high of 1.1039 set at 8:45 am ET. Continuation of the euro's downtrend may lead it to a support around the 1.08 region.

Data released by the Labor Department showed that U.S. initial jobless claims rose more than expected in the week ended October 15th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims climbed to 260,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level of 247,000.

Pulling away from a 2-day high of 114.52 against the Japanese yen, the euro retreated to 113.37 following Draghi's speech. Further extension of the euro's downtrend may see it challenging support near the 113.00 level.

The euro extended decline to near a 3-week low of 1.0837 against the Swiss franc, off its early high of 1.0871. The euro is seen finding support around the 1.06 area.

Data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs showed that Switzerland's trade surplus increased in the third quarter.

The trade surplus rose to CHF 10.2 billion from CHF 9.5 billion in second quarter.

The 19-nation currency moved off to 1.4418 against the loonie, 1.4268 against the aussie and and 1.5137 against the kiwi, from its recent 6-day high of 1.4574 and 2-day highs of 1.4427 and 1.5292, respectively. The currency had previously set a 17-month low of 1.4184 against the aussie and a 1-1/2-month low of 1.5102 against the kiwi in the Asian session. The euro is likely to target support around 1.40 against the aussie, 1.42 against the loonie and 1.49 against the kiwi.

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