ECB President, Mario Draghi, painted a negative picture for Europe in his recent statement despite confirming that the asset purchase programme which has been ongoing for almost four years will be coming to an end this month. Draghi expressed concerns that risks to the European economy are worsening, which was reflected in downgrades to growth forecasts for 2019 and 2020. The euro weakened against its major peers following the press conference, while stock markets were mildly positive as Draghi set a dovish tone when he indicated that the first rate hike will come later than expected.