ECB's Lane: Inflation below ECB's preferred level

European Central Bank (ECB) chief economist Philip Lane crossed the wires in the last minutes acknowledging that the most recent financial data pointed to mediocre inflation outcome below the ECB's preferred level.

"Maybe, the issue of falling inflation expectations is a live issue in discussions," Lane argued.

The EUR/USD pair, which rose above the 1.10 handle supported by broad selling pressure surrounding the USD, largely ignored these comments and was last seen trading at 1.1015, adding 0.4% on the day.