By Clare Connaghan The euro fell back from 23-month highs against the dollar Friday after business confidence dipped unexpectedly in the euro zone's largest economy, Germany. The single currency hit a near two-year high against the dollar of $1.3833 in Asia trading, but has since fallen around 0.2% after data showed German business sentiment dropped in October. The Ifo institute's business confidence index--a key measure of sentiment in the industrial sectors of Europe's biggest economy--dropped for the first time in six months, to 107.4 in October from 107.7 in September, and fell short of economists' expectations of 108.0. "The fall in German Ifo business sentiment in October provided another timely reminder that the euro-zone recovery remains fragile," said Ben May, a European economist at Capital Economics in London. In other news, the pound showed little reaction to a report showing the U.K. economy grew at its fastest rate in more than three years during the third quarter. In its preliminary estimate, the Office for National Statistics said gross domestic product grew 0.8% between July and September compared with the second quarter, when it grew 0.7%. Friday's quarterly growth rate is the strongest since the second quarter of 2010 when the economy grew 1.0%. "The report itself wasn't a big enough surprise to give sterling a boost," said Phyllis Papadavid, a senior global foreign-exchange strategist at BNP Paribas in London. More broadly, the dollar was stronger, gaining ground against the commodity-linked currencies of Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Forex spot: EUR/USD USD/JPY GBP/USD AUD/USD WSJ Dollar Index Spot 1107 GMT 1.3806 97.22 1.6197 0.9595 71.71 NY Close 1.3800 97.27 1.6202 0.9623 71.700 (Previous Day)

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