The euro slumped broadly on Thursday, reaching a new two-year low against the dollar, as worries about global economic growth and diminished expectations of near-term US Federal Reserve stimulus had investors avoiding risk.
The traditional safe-haven Japanese yen strongly outperformed both the euro and US dollar after the Bank of Japan limited itself to tweaking its asset buying program rather than easing monetary policy.
With speculators and long-term currency investors worried about Europe's lack of progress in tackling its debt crisis the euro fell to $1.2165, its lowest since mid-2010. The euro, which has slipped for three straight sessions, was last down 0.3 percent at $1.2204.
Against the yen, the euro fell to a six-week low of 96.40. It last traded at 96.74, down 0.9 percent on the day. The dollar was last down 0.6 percent at 79.28 yen, holding above chart support at the 200-day moving average around 79.01 yen.