NEW YORK: The euro gained ground on the dollar Friday amid talk that Spain was on the cusp of a rescue deal that would stabilize its finances and its banking system.
The Financial Times said that EU authorities were helping Madrid craft an economic reform program that will be announced next week, with the EU and the Spanish government focusing on measures required by international lenders as part of any new financial package.
At 2100 GMT, the euro traded at $1.2985, up from $1.2966 late Thursday. The euro traded up to $1.3048 in the bumpy session.
The yen was mixed after rising two straight days against the gravitational pull downwards of the Bank of Japan's newly unveiled monetary easing program.
The yen rose to 78.12 to the dollar from 78.24 yen, while it fell to 101.42 yen per euro from 101.46.
The British pound was higher, rising to $1.6229 from $1.6213, and the dollar also slipped on the Swiss franc, to 0.9324 francs from 0.9331 francs.
"The US dollar is lower as financial markets end the week on a calmer note and equity markets are higher," said Nick Bennenbroek of Wells Fargo Bank.
"The euro has had an up and down day but is higher overall. Media reports suggest that European authorities and Spain are working on a reform program which could be unveiled as soon as next week."
Trading was relatively flat all week, a pattern likely to continue through the end of the year, according to Geoffrey Kendrick at Nomura Foreign Exchange.
"We expect a lower volatility environment to persist for the remainder of 2012, but we think risks are skewed towards another wave of euro weakness in (the first half of) 2013, though the exact timing of such a move is difficult to pinpoint at this stage," he said in a market report.
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