By Michael Connor NEW YORK (Reuters) – The euro fell Thursday on the one , $ 10 for the first time since 2003 and the dollar extended gains against a basket of currencies, after the European Central Bank said it will launch a massive program of bond purchases next week. * The currency of the eurozone, which has lost nearly 15 percent against the dollar in six months, was quoted on Thursday briefly under $ 1.10 for the first time since September 2003 and hit a session low of $ 1.0988. * At the close of trading lost 0.45 percent to $ 1.1029, a settlement that accelerated after a press conference ECB President Mario Draghi. * Draghi spoke after the ECB in its battle against economic weakness in the euro zone and low inflation, raised its growth forecasts for 2015 and 2016 and set a date for the March 9 bond purchases by 60,000 million euros per month. * Analysts have suggested that the ECB will distort the bond market to buy with negative returns. Draghi said only avoid bonds that offer less than the ECB deposit rate of -0.2 percent. * Against the pound sterling, the euro fell 0.2 percent as well, to 72.34 pence, after touching a low not seen since December 2007. * The dollar, which has been going up since last summer, saw fresh 11 and a half years against a basket of major currencies. * The dollar index rose as even 96.593, its strongest level since September 2003, and closed at 96.380, with a gain of 0.43 percent. Continued …
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