Euro jumps as Draghi says time needed to estimate if more stimulus necessary

The euro moved higher against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, bouncing off a two-and-a-half week low after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said it was too early decide whether or not to add stimulus measures.

EUR/USD eased off 1.1105, the pair's lowest since September 4, to hit 1.1175 during U.S. morning trade, adding 0.44%.

“More time is needed to determine in particular whether the loss of growth momentum in emerging markets is of a temporary or permanent nature,” the ECB president said in his quarterly testimony to European Parliament lawmakers in Brussels on Wednesday.

Officials need to “assess the driving forces behind the drop in the international price of commodities and behind the recent episodes of severe financial turbulence,” he said.

Draghi’s remarks echo sentiment expressed by Governing Council members Ewald Nowotny and Bostjan Jazbec, who both said earlier Wednesday that it’s too early to judge if expanding purchases would be appropriate.

Earlier Wednesday, research group Markit reported that Germany's manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 52.5 in September from 53.3 the previous month, while the services PMI ticked down to 54.3 from 54.9.

France's manufacturing PMI rose to 50.4 this month from 48.3 in August, while the services PMI rose to 51.2 from 50.6.

For the entire euro zone, the composite PMI, which includes both manufacturing activity and services, slipped to 53.9 in September, Markit reported, from a reading of 54.3 in August.