The euro fell versus the dollar on Thursday as markets grew nervous ahead of comments from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet after the bank kept interest rates steady at two percent. Markets widely expected the ECB to leave rates unchanged and focused on President Jean-Claude Trichet's 1330 GMT news conference for future policy hints, especially after an unexpectedly sharp drop in inflation reported last week. The euro staged a brief attempt to rise after the news but quickly came off. Markets were also cautious about selling the dollar ahead of weekly U.S. jobless claims, also at 1330 GMT. "The ECB left rates as expected. There was a small relief rally in the euro but this has reverted lower because the appetite wasn't there to buy it aggressively ahead of Trichet and the U.S. jobs claims," said Steven Pearson, chief currency strategist at Halifax Bank of Scotland Treasury Services. At 1258 GMT, the euro traded at $1.2169 , versus about $1.2205 just before the announcement. It was down a third of a percent on the day.|||