ECB’s cautious cut strengthens euro

The European Central Bank cut interest rates on Thursday by a smaller than expected quarter percentage point, triggering a sharp rise in the euro.
The interest rate cut, from 1.5 per cent to 1.25 per cent, took official borrowing costs in continental Europe to their lowest since the second world war. However, the central bank saved some of its firepower for a package of anti-recession measures to be announced next month.