European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras said on Thursday that the ECB needs to start lowering key rates soon and added that he doesn't "buy the argument"that the ECB can not cut rates before the Federal Reserve, as reported by Bloomberg.

Stournaras added that monetary policy not become too restrictive and argued for two rate cuts before the summer break.

Market reaction

EUR/USD came under modest bearish pressure following these comments and was last seen trading at 1.0935, where it was down 0.12% on a daily basis.