Much of Thursday's focus was on his decision to push through the open-ended bond-buying scheme that will tie his successor Christine Lagarde's hands for years to come, despite opposition from a third of policymakers. Draghi played down the dissent, pointing out that all moves made in September were backed by majorities and were once again confirmed by the outcome of this month's meeting.
Against the dollar, the euro had rallied after the ECB's decision and press conference, but it quickly gave up those gains, weighed down by weak data releases. It was last 0.25% weaker at $1.110.
"We came into the morning thinking that there would be a bit more optimism than usual from Draghi as it is his last meeting, and we didn't think he would want to end his tenure on a downbeat note," said Thierry Wizman, global interest rates and currencies strategist at Macquarie Group. The US dollar was stronger on the euro's move, in spite of weak domestic data released Thursday morning. The dollar index was up 0.18% to 97.663.