The euro fell sharply against the dollar after European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet put market expectations of a May interest rate hike in doubt At 2.15 pm, the euro fell to 1.2232 against the dollar from 1.2315 before the Trichet press conference began. The euro had earlier hit a seven-month high of 1.2335 usd In the press conference following the ECB's expected decision to leave rates unchanged at 2.50 pct, Trichet said that market forecasts of a May rate hike "do not correspond to the ECB's thinking" He also said the ECB will continue to monitor inflation risks "very closely", but significantly omitted to reintroduce a commitment to "exercise vigilance" on inflation. A reference to "vigilance" is generally seen by the market as signifying that the ECB is preparing to raise rates again soon Market players had been expecting strong hints of a hike in May, particularly after the recent strong German Ifo and euro zone PMI surveys