A previous version of this report misstated the euro’s level against the dollar Friday. This has been corrected.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The euro recorded its largest weekly decline against the dollar since September 2011 Friday.

The euro shed 3% of its value against the dollar this week, with most of the loss happening during the final two trading days of the week, after the European Central Bank announced a stimulus program that was larger than the market anticipated.

The euro EURUSD, -0.06% traded in a tight range around $1.1240 against the greenback, according to FactSet data, after falling to $1.1115, its lowest level since September 2003. The shared currency traded at $1.1361 late Thursday. The euro EURJPY, -0.01% also pulled back from ¥130.93, its lowest level against the Japanese yen since October 2013. The shared currency was worth ¥132.4500 in recent trade, EURJPY, -0.01% , compared with ¥134.65 Thursday.

As of Tuesday, net-short positions held against the euro increased by 5% to $26.1 billion, according to data released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Friday. Camilla Sutton, chief foreign-exchange strategist at Scotiabank, said next week’s reading will likely show a dramatic increase in the number of euro short-sellers because the data will include positions placed after Thursday’s ECB announcement.

The greenback surged against the Australian, New Zealand currencies and, to a lesser extend, the Canadian dollar as falling commodity prices weighed on the three export-dependent economies.

ECB President Mario Draghi said Thursday that the central bank will buy 60 billion euros ($69 billion) of public- and private-sector debt every month from March through September 2016, leaving the door open for more easing. The injection of cash into the eurozone’s financial system is expected to contribute to higher inflation and economic growth. Investors had expected a smaller regimen of asset purchases, and the announcement triggered a sharp rally in European stocks and bonds.

As the euro fell, European stocks were on a tear, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index SXXP, -0.66% up 1.8%.

Analysts have rushed to slash their year-end forecasts for the euro. Bank of America Merrill Lynch lowered its year-end forecast to $1.10 from $1.20. HSBC lowered its year-end forecast to $1.09, from $1.15.

Simon Smith, chief economist at FxPro, said the next level to watch for the euro is the September 2003 low of $1.0765.

The aussie AUDUSD, +0.02% extended its declines from earlier in the week, falling to below 80 cents for the first time since July 2009. It was last trading at a session low of 79.13 cents, compared with about 80 cents Thursday.

Lower growth expectations for China and tumbling commodity prices have weighed on Australia, which is the world’s largest exporter of iron ore. The flash HSBC China PMI, released early Friday, showed that manufacturing activity in the world’s second-largest economy continued to slow in December, despite coming in higher than expected.

The same issues have weighed on the New Zealand dollar NZDUSD, +0.04% , which fell to 74.51 cents Friday, its lowest level since late 2011. It traded around the 75-cent level Thursday. The Canadian dollar CADUSD, -0.01% fell to 80.50 cents, its lowest level since early 2009.

BK Asset Management’s Boris Schlossberg rhetorically asked if eurozone quantitative easing was intended to drive the euro even lower, arguing that ECB Executive Board member Bernard Coeure admitted as much during an appearance from Davos, Switzerland that was broadcast on CNBC Friday.

“Taken from that perspective the ECBs actions make perfect sense,” Schlossberg said in a Friday morning research note. “The QE announcement has shaved another 300 points off the EUR/USD exchange rate and the pair is now fully 20% lower than just nine months ago.”