Euro hits lowest level against US dollar since July 2010

The euro has hit a 22-month low against the US dollar amid worries that Greece might have to exit the eurozone.

The single currency slipped by nearly 1.5 percent to USD 1.2554 on Wednesday, hitting its weakest level against the dollar since July 2010, Financial Times reported.

The depreciation follows the former Greek Premier Lucas Papademos’ remarks on the potential of Greece’s departure from the euro.

“The risk of Greece leaving the euro is real and it depends effectively on whether the Greek people will support the continued implementation of the economic program,” he said.

“Although such a scenario is unlikely to materialize and it is not desirable either for Greece or for other countries, it cannot be excluded that preparations are being made to contain the potential consequences of a Greek euro exit.”

His comments are against the optimism expressed by the European Union (EU) powerhouses, France and Germany, which on March 21, pledged support to keep Greece in the eurozone.

The leaders of the 27 EU member states are currently meeting in Brussels to find a solution to the ongoing debt crises within the 17-nation eurozone.

The leaders also aim to resolve the Greek political and financial turmoil. Greece has announced that it will hold new parliamentary elections on June 17 after the country’s politicians failed to assemble a governing coalition following the previous inconclusive polls on May 6.

“What we need is a decisive plan for Greece, and we need decisive plans to help get the European economies moving,” British Prime Minister David Cameron said as he headed into the summit.

Greek politicians are at loggerheads over whether to continue supporting the austerity measures imposed by the EU and the International Monetary Fund in return for bailout funds or to abandon the measures and be forced out of the 17-nation bloc.