Euro Rises As Draghi Says He Believes Greece Will Make Upcoming Debt Payment

The euro edged higher against its rivals Thursday after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said he believed Greece would make an upcoming 3.5 billion euro ($3.8 billion) debt-service payment to the central bank. Draghi made the remark during a question-and-answer session with reporters following his July monetary policy statement. Earlier in the Q&A session, the shared currency fell to a seven-and-a-half year low against the British pound after Draghi revealed that the central bank had raised its emergency liquidity support for Greece by 900 million euros. The shared currency recently traded at $1.0897, from $1.0860 ahead of Draghi's statement. It also traded at 69.86 pence, about even with its pre-statement level. Greece is currently in arrears to the International Monetary Fund after missing a 1.54 billion euro ($1.7 billion) payment on June 30. The central bank earlier voted to keep its benchmark policy rate at a record low 0.05%.