LONDON — The European single currency firmed against the dollar on Friday after news that the eurozone recession has officially ended. In late morning trading here, the euro edged up to to 1.4882 dollars, compared with 1.4845 dollars late in New York on Thursday, but it slipped against a firmer pound. And gold fell by about seven dollars an ounce. Against the Japanese currency, the dollar fell to 89.77 yen from 90.34 yen late on Thursday. Europe's deepest recession since World War II officially ended on Friday when the world's biggest single trading bloc joined Japan and the United States in returning to growth, official data showed. Both the 16-nation eurozone and the 27-nation European Union as a whole, home to half a billion people, posted growth -- of 0.4 percent in the mainstay single currency area and 0.2 for the whole EU in the third quarter. "The dollar's inability to hold above 1.49, the generally soft tone in stocks and weaker gold and oil prices reflects a reduced appetite for risk into the weekend," said analyst Jane Foley at online trading site Forex.com. She added: "Overall eurozone growth at 0.4 percent was weaker than expected although it confirms that the region moved out of recession in the period." Growth of 0.7 percent in Germany, Europe's most powerful economy, and 0.3 percent in France, lay behind the improvement across the eurozone. The eurozone economy had shrunk by 0.2 percent between April and June after a record collapse of 2.5 percent in the first three months of the year. "The message is that the recovery has begun, but the upswing will be a moderate and gradual affair as domestic demand will remain lacklustre, added Fortis economist Nick Kounis. The dollar was also on the backfoot amid concerns in Asia that the weak greenback could hinder a nascent economic recovery. "Stocks market investors got the jitters about the strength and durability of the global economic recovery," said NAB Capital strategist John Kyriakopoulos. Executives at US retail giant Wal-Mart soured the mood by voicing caution about the outlook for US consumer spending, while Chinese premier Wen Jiabao warned the economic recovery would be gradual and bumpy, he added. US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner reiterated Thursday it was "very important" to have a strong dollar, but dealers noted that Washington has done nothing to arrest the greenback's decline, which is good for its exports. The currency issue has sparked trade tensions at a meeting of Asia-Pacific ministers in Singapore, where Asian nations have voiced alarm about the impact of the plunging dollar on their own exports. In London on Friday, the euro was changing hands at 1.4882 dollars against 1.4845 dollars late on Thursday, at 133.61 yen (134.11), 0.8929 pounds (0.8950) and 1.5104 Swiss francs (1.5102). The dollar stood at 89.77 yen (90.34) and 1.0149 Swiss francs (1.0173). The pound was at 1.6666 dollars (1.6580). On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold later fell to 1,107.50 dollars an ounce from 1,114.75 dollars an ounce late on Thursday.

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