LONDON, Sept 1: The dollar lost steam against the euro in late trading here on Friday on fresh concerns over the US housing market and after posting gains following a positive US job creation report.

The single European currency was at $1.2819 after $1.2814 late Thursday in New York. In the immediate aftermath of the US jobs announcement the euro fell to $1.2770 before recovering lost ground.

The dollar was meanwhile trading at 117.25 yen against 117.37 on Thursday.

The US currency in trading against the euro was hurt by a report from the National Association of Realtors revealing that pending home sales fell by 7.0 per cent in July to their lowest level in three years.

On the London Bullion Market, the price of an ounce of gold fell to $621.05 per ounce from $623.50 late on Thursday.—AFP