The euro tumbled under 1.54 dollars on Thursday after European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said that "downside risks prevail" in the 15-nation eurozone economy.
The European single currency dived as low as 1.5396 dollars in mid-afternoon trading, which compared with 1.5502 shortly before the Trichet comments.
Trichet, speaking after the ECB held its key lending rate at 4.25 percent, said Thursday that the fundamentals of the eurozone economy remained sound but that activity had slowed in the past few months.
"The latest economic data point to a weakening of real GDP growth in mid-2008, which in part was expected after the exceptionally strong growth in the first quarter," he said.
"The uncertainty surrounding this outlook for economic activity remains high, owing to ... the very high and volatile levels of commodity prices and the ongoing tensions in financial markets.
"Overall, downside risks prevail."
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