Tokyo - The euro rose against major currencies in Asian trade on Friday, helped by a successful Spanish bond auction, as market players began turning their attention to the forthcoming holidays, dealers said.
The common currency stood at $1.3025 and ¥101.45 in the afternoon, up from $1.3017 and ¥101.41 in New York late on Thursday.
The dollar was flat at ¥77.89.
"The market will be gradually shifting to holiday season mode, with position squaring likely to dominate activity," Kengo Suzuki, forex strategist at Mizuho Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.
The lack of bad news over the European debt crisis and solid Spanish bond auction results on Thursday have helped ease risk concerns, dealers said.
Spain enjoyed a bumper bond sale on Thursday, raising nearly twice the amount it had hoped for as it snatched the chance to lock in competitive borrowing rates in the swirling eurozone debt crisis.
Spain's treasury raised €6.0bn - far above its €2.5bn - €3.5bn target - in the closely watched auction, the Bank of Spain said.
Investors made bids for a combined total of €11.234bn of the four-, nine-, and 10-year bonds, more than three times the original maximum target.
Strong US data, including new jobless claims that hit a three-year low last week, also helped calm nerves, dealers said.
The dollar was largely lower against other Asian currencies, falling to Sg$1.3029 from Sg$1.3114 on Thursday, to 1 156.90 South Korean won from 1 162.70, to 9 046.25 Indonesian rupiah from 9 170.00 and to 43.88 Philippine pesos from 44.20.
The greenback also eased to 31.35 Thai baht from 31.37 but firmed to Tw$30.34 from Tw$30.32.