The euro fell below the levels at which it was launched in 1999 for the first time in more than nine years on Wednesday, hit by growing expectations that the European Central Bank could announce full-scale government bond purchases next week.
The euro fell 0.4 per cent to $1.1728, past option barriers at $1.1750, to its lowest level in nine years and below $1.1747, the level it started trading in Sydney on January 4, 1999, according to Reuters data.
The euro was officially launched on January 1, 1999 and began trading on January 4.
An adviser to Europe’s top court said on Wednesday that an earlier, unused, ECB bond-buying programme was legal under some conditions. That was seen as leaving the door open for the bank to embark on outright money-printing for the first time.