NEW YORK: The euro pushed higher Friday amid more expectations that Spain will give in and request a bailout that would bring some fresh calm to the nervous eurozone.
The yen meanwhile fell further as traders gained more appetite for risk.
At 2100 GMT, the euro was trading at $1.2958, up from $1.2926 late Thursday.
The greenback pushed higher to 78.39 yen from 78.33, while the euro pushed to 101.60 yen from 101.25.
"The euro continues to appreciate while short-term Spanish paper rises in value, despite the fact that S&P downgraded Spain to one notch above 'junk' on Friday. Why?" said Christopher Vecchio, currency analyst at DailyFX.
"This is a clear indication that money is being positioned for the inevitable Spanish bailout and the ensuing involvement of the ECB in bond markets."
The Australian dollar was lower, to US $1.0283, amid warnings it faces more weakness as Chinese growth slows.
"With stocks closing out their worst weekly loss in over four months, attention now turns to the world's second largest economy with a slew of economic data out of China due next week," said DailyFX's David Song.
"Moreover, growth and inflation are expected to slow further as the region continues to face a threat for a 'hard landing,' and a batch of dismal figures may have the largest impact on the Australian dollar," he said.
The US dollar fell to 0.9326 Swiss francs from 0.9346 francs, while the British pound rose to $1.6069 from $1.6043.
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