They said the greenback gained after some stronger than expected US economic data and less hawkish comments from the eurozone and British central banks than some in the market had expected.

The dollar rose to 123.15 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade from 122.92 in New York late Thursday.

The euro bought 1.3592 dollars, down slightly from 1.3596 in New York, while rising to 167.38 yen after 167.12.

Signs that the US economy might be getting back on a stronger footing helped support the dollar, which has weakened in recent months as speculators have favoured currencies offering the prospect of higher yields.

The dollar got a boost from data showing a robust US services sector and from a private job survey which raised hopes of a solid report on monthly US non-farm payrolls which is due for release later Friday.

The Institute of Supply Management's ISM non-manufacturing index rose to 60.7 percent, well above the 50 percent level signifying growth.

"The dollar attracted temporary buy-backs" after the data, said Kikuko Takeda, currency research manager at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

"This is unlikely to be a new trend," she said, adding that the euro was still the strongest market performer, followed by the dollar and then the yen due to interest rate differentials.