After the Thursday meeting, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced its intention to keep rates at the same level at least until the end of this year and also mentioned launching of another long-term lending program for banks in September. This has caused serious disagreements among analysts about the future prospects of the EUR/USD pair.
According to a number of experts, the softening of the position of the regulator leaves little to no chance for the euro to grow.
"The decisions voiced by the ECB at the last meeting may support the European economy, but one can hardly expect any visible effect from them this year," said by the representatives of ABN Amro Bank.
At the same time, they noted that a significant collapse of the single European currency should not be expected since most of the negative news on the euro has already been included in the quotes.
According to the bank's forecast, the EUR / USD pair can sink to the level of 1.10 by the end of the first half of the year.
Meanwhile, UBS experts believe that in the first half of 2019, the single currency against the dollar will remain within the established range, and in the second half, it will rise to the level of 1.20.
"The ECB, apparently, is trying to gain time for itself in order to properly" calibrate "its policy," analysts say.
They said that the improvement of economic indicators in the eurozone, as well as the resolution of trade conflicts including between the United States and the Middle Kingdom, will be the supporting factors for the euro.
"Such a development of events seems to us a more likely scenario than a further depreciation of the euro from current levels," as stated by UBS.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company - www.instaforex.com