NEW YORK (AFP) -- The dollar gained against the euro Thursday after the European Central Bank opted to keep eurozone interest rates on hold and as traders predicted no change in rates for some time to come.

The dollar gained support as ECB head Jean-Claude Trichet said there were now signs of a eurozone economic slowdown at a time when inflationary pressures were ominously on the rise.
The single European currency was quoted at 1.5321 dollars around 2100 GMT, down from 1.5408 late Wednesday.
The dollar meanwhile slipped back against the Japanese currency to 109.46 yen, down from 109.76 a day earlier.
The dollar has slumped against the euro and other currencies in the past year amid slowing U.S. economic growth, but the dollar has gained ground of late amid concerns about eurozone, and particularly German growth.
The market action came after the ECB, as expected, held its key interest rate at 4.25 percent.
""The (ECB) governing council is very much in neutral,"" said analyst Julian Callow of Barclays Capital Research.
""The growth scare is clearly seen as being sufficient for the time being to counter the inflation risks that have been building for some time.
""But, for now, it seems reasonable to expect no change in rates over the next few months.""
The dollar also gained some ground against the British pound after the Bank of England -- in a widely expected move -- also kept its key rate unchanged. The BoE held its main base rate steady at 5.0 percent. ""We believe the Bank of England really had little option but to keep interest rates at 5.00 percent,"" said Global Insight economist Howard Archer.