The US currency lost ground to the single currency of Europe in Thursday trading, taking the euro to a nine-month high, reports AFP.According to the newswire, the euro reached 1.4583 dollars by 21:00 GMT, an increase from its position of 1.4564 in late New York trading.Rising hopes of economic recovery in Europe are cited as driving forces behind the single currency's gains.This is due to the fact that the dollar is often used as a "safe haven" for uncertain investors, leaving its position to ease as investment moves back to other currencies.AFP adds that the euro peaked at more than 1.46 dollars during Thursday.The news follows reports from Dow Jones that the euro had maintained its position above the benchmark figure of $1.4450 over the second half of the week.With this in mind, the newswire suggested that the currency could be considered to have escaped the "tight summer ranges" that the warmer months had seen.