The euro slumped to the weakest in almost nine years after the European Central Bank signaled it will consider embarking on large-scale government-bond purchases.
The dollar strengthened versus 15 of 16 major peers, with the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index near to a record high on speculation the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year. The 19-nation euro fell as much as 1.2 percent today after ECB President Mario Draghi said last week he can’t rule out deflation in the euro area. The Australian dollar fell to a 5 1/2 year low as the yield on the nation’s 15-year bonds dropped below 3 percent for the first time