US president Donald Trump has accused Mario Draghi of “unfairly” manipulating the euro, after the European Central Bank president made dovish comments that sent government bond prices sharply higher and pushed down the single currency.
Speaking at the ECB’s annual symposium in Sintra, Portugal, Mr Draghi said the bank could launch a fresh expansion of its €2.6tn quantitative easing programme if the inflation outlook failed to improve.
The euro sank about 0.5 per cent against the dollar, reaching a low of just under $1.12, while European and US equities rose — Germany’s Dax index was up 2 per cent on the day and the S&P 500 was more than 1 per cent higher in afternoon trading.