LONDON (AFP) - The European single currency slumped close to a nine-month dollar low point on Friday when markets took a dim view of eurozone growth data and half-baked EU proposals to help debt-ridden Greece. Investors also sought the safe-haven dollar after China ordered financial institutions to increase the amount of money they keep in reserve, as Beijing looked to rein in rampant lending amid fears of asset bubbles. On other world markets, stocks diverged and crude oil prices slid. In late morning trading here, the euro tumbled to 1.3532 dollars, the lowest level since May 19. That compared with 1.3695 in New York late on Thursday. The euro is weakening in response to ongoing market concerns over the eurozone sovereign debt crisis, said Neil MacKinnon, economist at Russian investment bank VTB Capital. Todays eurozone economic data does not help either. To add to the fire, China raised required reserve ratios again, which is putting risk assets under pressure again. Late on Thursday, EU leaders stopped short of offering bailout funds to rescue Greece, a eurozone member. Deep problems in Greek public finances have highlighted the parlous debt of other crisis-hit countries such as Italy and Spain. The unions 27 leaders vowed determined and coordinated action if needed to safeguard the financial stability in the euro area as a whole, but they have yet to provide details of any action. Official data on Friday showed that Europes economic recovery has stalled, with the heavyweight German economy grinding to a halt in the fourth quarter of 2009 and Italy switching back to contraction. Economic growth in the 16 nations using the euro single currency was a meagre 0.1 percent over the previous quarter compared to 0.4 percent growth in the third quarter, data agency Eurostat said. GDP the combined value of all the goods and services produced in an economy fell by 4.0pc last year in the eurozone. Weaker GDP figures out of Germany and the eurozone has raised uncertainty over the pace of the economic recovery within Europe helping to sap earlier equity gains, said City Index analyst Joshua Raymond. The figures are a bit of a surprise and have raised tension in Europe, that despite yesterdays agreement to help Greece, the economic recovery within the eurozone may be slower than first hoped. In recent weeks, the euro has been plagued by concerns about rocky public finances in the eurozone particularly in peripheral members Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain. The prospect of an eventual Greek debt default has stalked markets for weeks, with the cost of borrowing shooting through the roof for Athens. Public finances across the world have taken a hammering from emergency fiscal stimulus measures and bank bailouts to counter recession, and tax revenues have been cut by the downturn. Without specific detail of any (EU) support package (for Greece), there is risk that the eurozone debt crisis escalates which could easily turn into a currency crisis, MacKinnon warned. Lloyds Banking Group economist Kenneth Broux labelled the EU meeting a political bailout and added that next weeks upcoming meeting of eurozone finance ministers should clarify matters. The summit was a political bailout and lacked substance on the framework of how assistance would work in practice, Broux said. There simply is no rulebook. I hope and expect the Ecofin meeting next week will fill in the blanks, and this will restore some degree of confidence that has deserted the peripheral EU debt markets. European stock markets diverged near the half-way stage on Friday, with Frankfurt up 0.15 percent, London down 0.42 percent and Paris shedding 0.33 percent. Wall Street had rallied Thursday as sentiment was lifted by the EU pledge to help Greece stave off a debt crisis and better-than-expected US labor market data. In Asia on Friday, markets were generally higher in quiet trade ahead of Sundays Lunar New Year and the start of a week-long holiday in China. Tokyo finished 1.29 percent higher but Hong Kong fell 0.11 in a late bout of profit-taking. Meanwhile in Beijing on Friday, the Peoples Bank of China said the deposit reserve ratio would be raised by 50 basis points as of February 25, the second increase since the start of the year. The ratio is the minimum amount of money that banks must keep in reserve and not use for lending or other purposes. The announcement is the latest sign the government is moving to control an explosion in new lending that has raised fears of inflation, economic overheating and a possible rash of bad loans.