LONDON, July 5: The dollar got a late boost on Thursday at the end of an event filled day from a stronger-than-expected report on the US service sector.The single currency had reached $1.3650 in early trades, the highest point since May 1, but it later fell back to $1.3589, compared with $1.3623 late on Wednesday in New York.

The dollar traded for 122.83 yen, up from 122.63 late on Wednesday.

The US service sector news offset the effects of comments from the ECB earlier in the day.

The US Institute for Supply Management said its non-manufacturing business index had risen to 60.7 in June from 59.7 in May, confounding analyst expectations of a pullback to 58.1.

“Indeed, the strong level of activity was generally diffused across all reporting industries, indicating that good activity levels are broad-based in the economy,” an analyst at Global Insight noted.

On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold dropped to $651 per ounce, from $654.15 late on Wednesday.—AFP