Euro tumbles on economic worries

Frankfurt - The euro tumbled to near a two-year low in early European trading on Thursday, slumping to $1.2697.

The common currency is beleaguered by market concerns about the eurozone's economic outlook and expectations of new monetary action from the European Central Bank.

The euro's decline followed the release this week of two downbeat economic indicators, which have helped fuel worries about the 18-member currency bloc's recovery from a protracted recession.

In a newspaper interview published in Vilnius on Thursday, ECB chief Mario Draghi once again said the Frankfurt-based bank stood ready to take fresh action to shore up the struggling eurozone economy and to head off the threat posed by low inflation.

Thursday's decline puts the euro at its lowest value, against the dollar, since November 2012.

The euro has been losing ground in recent weeks against the dollar, partly as a result of a stronger performance by the US economy.