European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi dismissed fears of a Greek default at his regular press conference in Frankfurt on Wednesday, after the central bank announced that it was keeping interest rates steady.
There were no real changes proposed at the meeting and Draghi said he was not ready to even "contemplate" a default by Greece, as ECB policymakers approved increasing emergency funding for Greek banks to as much as 80 billion euros ($85 billion), according to media reports.
Greece risks default if additional funds are not forthcoming. Athens sold 812.5 million euros of three-month Treasury bills in the second of two auctions on Wednesday, in an effort to raise some much needed cash.
According to Draghi, there is no ECB-instigated date in mind for the Greek aid or "Emergency Liquidity Assistance" to end it. Instead, the funding arrangement was "entirely in the hands of the Greek government and the negotiations that are taking place between the Greek government and the euro area members."
“We expect the economic recovery to broaden and strengthen gradually,” Draghi continued. Even so, “purchases are intended to run until the end of September 2016 and, in any case, until we see a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation.”
The Wednesday meeting was interrupted when a woman protester jumped up on the table in front of Draghi, dumping white confetti on the central bank chief.
AUD/USD
In the meantime, the Australian dollar jumped to $0.7770 from $0.7712 against the U.S. dollar following released data showing that the Australian economy added more jobs than expected in March, pushing the unemployment rate lower and easing pressure on the central bank to reduce interest rates further.