Euro sinks to 12-year low as QE bites

London

THE euro plumbed another 12-year low against the dollar on Wednesday, extending a broad decline since the European Central Bank kicked off its 1.1 trillion euro (S$1.6 trillion) asset-buying programme at the start of the week.

The ECB began creating new money to buy sovereign bonds on Monday in an effort to support growth and lift eurozone inflation from below zero. That sent yields on the debt of nearly all eurozone countries to record lows on Wednesday, with the yield on 10-year German bonds, which set the standard for euro area …