European shares fell yesterday, dragged lower by mining and telecom stocks, while a plunge in Thai stocks added to the negative sentiment in Europe.

Mining stocks such as Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto fell almost 2 percent, as oil and commodity prices dropped.

The oil price was slightly below $62 a barrel after dropping more than a dollar the day before, as warmer than usual weather in the eastern United States curbed demand for heating oil in the world’s top energy consumer.

The pan-European FTS-Eurofirst index of 300 leading shares fell 0.7 percent to 1,477.12 points.

Around Europe, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.6 percent, Paris’s CAC 40 slid 0.9 percent and Germany’s DAX was down 0.9 percent.

Thai stocks plunged 12 percent, their biggest drop since Asia’s 1997 financial crisis as foreign investors took fright at drastic measures to rein in the baht.

European stock markets showed little reaction to a buoyant German Ifo business sentiment survey, which surged in December to its best level since reunification as firms’ business expectations and their assessment of current conditions both improved.

The euro approached a recent record high against the yen and rose versus the dollar after the strong Ifo reading, reinforcing expectations for a European Central Bank rate hike next year.

The euro rose to $1.3161 at 1 from $1.3097. Telecom shares were among the top decliners. Shares in British telecoms group BT fell 2.2 percent after it unveiled a bigger than expected pension deficit of 3.4 billion pounds ($6.7 billion) and said it would speed up payments to cut the shortfall.