NEW YORK — The dollar fell to a two-month low against the euro Thursday after the International Monetary Fund raised its forecast for global economic growth this year. The U.S. currency rose against the Japanese yen and the British pound but gave ground against most other major currencies as traders reassured by the IMF's report bought riskier assets. The euro rose even as the European Central Bank chief warned that GDP in the 16 countries using the common currency will grow "at a moderate and still uneven pace." The IMF said the economy worldwide is recovering faster than expected, even though Europe must still deal with its debt crisis and keep it from infecting other regions of the world. In morning trading in New York, the euro rose to $1.2687 from $1.2650 late Wednesday. It earlier peaked at $1.2694, its strongest level since May 12. Fear of surging public debt and slowing growth have hurt the euro this year, dragging it down more than 15 percent versus the dollar, but it has been helped recently by hopeful signs on banks' health. Bank regulators will make "stress tests" of European financial institutions public on July 23 to try to relieve fears of a hit to balance sheets from deteriorating economic conditions. The ECB on Thursday held interest rates at 1 percent, while the Bank of England maintained a 0.5 percent rate. Both decisions were expected.

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