LONDON—The euro held near its highest point in 7–1/2 years versus Japan’s yen on Thursday before a potentially pivotal European Central Bank rate decision, with policymakers expected to announce an end to the bank’s multi-year monetary stimulus.
The ECB is all but certain to flag an end to its long-running asset purchase program at the end of this month, and promise an interest rate hike for July, but the size and pace of its tightening are uncertain.
A hawkish Federal Reserve and soaring inflation has upped the pressure on Frankfurt to raise rates, with markets expecting more than 135 bps of cumulative rate hikes by end of the year….