LONDON, July 24: The euro was lower on Thursday after downbeat surveys on eurozone business activity and German business sentiment dampened the economic outlook significantly, dealers said.

They said that after a hike in interest rates earlier this month to keep inflation in check, the European Central Bank was now less likely to tighten monetary policy further even though prices were rising at a record pace in the eurozone.

The dollar got a boost earlier this week after a senior US Federal Reserve official warned that US interest rates might have to rise to fight inflation and the unit continued stronger on the latest European data.

In late Thursday deals, the European single currency was at $1.5660, down from $1.5683 earlier in the day and $1.5693 late on Wednesday in New York.

Against the Japanese currency, the dollar slipped to 107.70 yen from 107.86.

“The latest very weak survey data from the eurozone will surely prevent the European Central Bank from raising interest rates further,” said Capital Economics analyst Ben May.—AFP