LONDON, Aug 28: The dollar got a boost against the euro on Thursday from better-than-expected US growth figures which suggested that fears of a US recession may have been overdone.

Dealers said second quarter US growth of 3.3 per cent, up from an initial 1.9 per cent estimate, followed a surprise pick-up in durable goods orders and consumer sentiment earlier in the week to show a US economy doing well.

As a result, the euro -- suffering from weak German data this week -- fell back sharply to $1.4698 in late European trade, down from $1.4765 earlier in the day and $1.4737 in New York late on Wednesday.

Against the Japanese currency, the dollar rose to 109.52 yen from 109.47.

The euro had made early gains to recover further from six month lows of below $1.46, reached on Tuesday in the wake of downbeat consumer confidence and business sentiment surveys in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy.

Elsewhere, the British pound remained close to two-year lows versus the dollar as a survey from the Nationwide bank revealed that house prices continued to slump in August.

In London trading on Thursday, the euro changed hands at $1.4698 against $1.4737 late on Wednesday, at 160.89 yen (161.32), 0.8040 pounds (0.8025) and 1.6144 Swiss francs (1.6161).The dollar stood at 109.52 yen (109.47) and 1.0990 Swiss francs (1.0965).

The pound was at $1.8273 (1.8359).

On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold rose to $838.25 per ounce from $827 late on Wednesday.—AFP