DHAKA: The euro fell again against the US dollar, hitting a new 11-year low a day after the European Central Bank unveiled a vast bond-buying programme to revive the euro zone.

The currency market also nervously awaited the outcome of Greece’s general election on Sunday, with polls showing the leftist anti-austerity Syriza party would win, posing a new challenge to the bailout programme from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

The euro, which fetched US$1.1359 late Thursday, tumbled to US$1.1115, the lowest level since September 2003, The Straits Times publishes this report on Saturday.

The ECB’s announcement on Thursday of a €1.14 trillion (S$1.72 trillion) bond-buying programme, or quantitative easing (QE), aims to stimulate growth and avert deflation after the nearly stagnant euro zone saw prices drop in December for the first time in five years.

BDST: 1159 HRS, JAN 24, 2015