Forex: Thursday’s review

Yesterday the euro rose for a sixth day versus the yen, the longest run since March, as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the currency was irreversible and the ECB’s decision to start buying bonds helped ease tensions.

The 17-nation currency gained the most in almost three weeks versus the dollar after Draghi said the ECB was ready to start buying government bonds from nations such as Spain as soon as the necessary conditions are met.

The ECB is ready to undertake bond purchases under its plan known as Outright Monetary Transactions “once all the prerequisites are in place,” Draghi said at a press conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia. At last month’s conference, Draghi unveiled a program of unlimited debt buying to cap borrowing costs for debt-ridden nations.

The ECB left its benchmark rate at a record low of 0.75 percent.

Spain sold a combined 3.99 billion euros ($5.19 billion) of two-, three-and five-year notes today as investors debated whether the nation will ask for an international bailout. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy this week denied he has any immediate plans to do so.

The greenback stayed lower versus most major peers as claims for U.S. jobless benefits rose less than forecast, encouraging investors to buy higher- returning assets. U.S. Labor Department data showed applications for jobless benefits increased 4,000 to 367,000 in the week ended Sept. 29. A survey forecast 370,000 claims.

The pound strengthened versus the dollar after the Bank of England left its asset-purchase target at 375 billion pounds ($604 billion) at its monthly gathering. The central bank kept its main interest rate at a record-low 0.5 percent.