The buck came off its strong early highs after both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England stood pat on interest rates, in line with expectations. The ECB Governing Council decision was unanimous.

Jean-Claude Trichet, the ECB’s president, adopted a rather hawkish tone in his accompanying rhetoric, which is always scoured for its inner meaning, as he stressed that inflation risks remain.

“As we have said on previous occasions, inflation rates are expected to remain high for a rather protracted period of time, before gradually declining again,” Trichet said.

Unlike the Fed, the ECB has an explicit mandate to fight inflation, and it’s looking at unacceptable numbers. EU CPI in March was 3.3%, far above the ECB’s target of “close to” 2%.

The British pound got little support from the Bank of England’s stance, as it is widely considered temporary. “Given the lackluster economic data from U.K., most currency traders are anticipating more easing from the BOE as the year progresses,” said Boris Schlossberg, of Forex Capital Markets LLCR

It was a day of clashing influences, as the buck sank to a record low of $1.5981 early, but came back as the day wore on.

The Philadelphia Fed led the way early, reporting that factories in the region showed weaker conditions in April. The Philly Fed index fell to minus 24.9, from minus 17.4 in March, marking the fifth straight month of negative readings.

But the Conference Board then said its leading indicators gauge of future economic growth rose 0.1% in March. It was the first visit to positive territory after five consecutive monthly declines.

Then the euro got slammed after Jean-Claude Juncker, chairman of the Euro Group, called the common currency’s recent rise “undesirable.”

“Juncker’s remarks may be the catalyst for an interim euro pullback that the bulls are seeking for renewed buying at lower levels,” commented Ashraf Laidi, of CMC Markets US.

The pullback could be brief. “Since yesterday euro bulls have tried to make a run at $1.60 four separate times but have been repelled each time with the defense of option barriers at that level remaining intact,” wrote Boris Schlossberg, of Forex Capital Markets LLC.

“Still, it may just be a matter of time before this seminal level falls, taking out the many stops likely placed there,” Schlossberg said.

And looking forward, legendary billionaire George Soros said that, “The whole world is facing a very serious financial crisis … I call it the most serious crisis of our lifetime [because the whole] financial system is seriously disrupted.”