Eurozone reforms could eliminate need for ECB's low interest rate environment - German deputy finance minister

Germany's Deputy Finance Minister Michael Meister speaking at a business conference in Berlin on Thursday said that need for low interest rates from the ECB can be eliminated if Euro zone countries focus on solving fundamental problems.

Meister said that Euro zone countries have failed to use the low interest rate environment created by the European Central Bank's (ECB) expansionary policy to reform their economies and consolidate their budgets. He added that if Euro zone countries can achieve this, then the need for low interest rates is eliminated and the central bank is in a position to pursue a different monetary policy

"Politicians should focus on solving fundamental problems - competitiveness of national economies and the consolidation of public budgets," Michael Meister said at a business conference in Berlin.

Markets await European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi’s speech scheduled for later in the day. Also, investors are looking forward to the release of December retail sales data due on Friday.

Meanwhile, FxWirePro's Hourly EUR Strength Index remained neutral at 49.5043 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex.