Euro drops below $1.45 after Trichet comments

NEW YORK, June 9 (Reuters) - The euro extended losses against the U.S. dollar on Thursday after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said "strong vigilance" is warranted to curb inflation.

Market participants, however, said the euro fell because a July rate hike has already been priced in and investors are now taking profits on the currency's gains racked up ahead of Trichet's comments.

The euro hit a session low at $1.44788 on trading platform EBS EUR=EBS and was last at $1.44880, down 0.6 percent on the day.

For the past few years, investors have come to view the words "strong vigilance" as Trichet's way of signaling an impending rate hike the following month.

For highlights from Trichet comments at ECB news conference click on [ID:nECBNEWS]. (Reporting by Julie Haviv; Editing by James Dalgleish)