Euro tumbles through crucial support level

Heavy selling of the euro saw it tumble through the $1.30 mark versus the US dollar late this morning, to its lowest level since early January.

Just before midday the euro tumbled to $1.2945, its lowest level since 12 January, having begun falling sharply yesterday afternoon. After passing through the support level, it then strengthened marginally, and was trading at $1.2991 at the time of writing. The single currency had until recently been resilient to the crisis raging across the eurozone, but the latest round of talks - which are now showing signs of failing - have pushed investors' nerves too far. In total the euro has fallen more than $0.11 against the dollar from the end of October high, when it traded at $1.41.