The dollar faltered against the euro Friday as the European trading week drew to a close amid increasing worries that China's plans to curb growth will affect global economic prospects.
The single European currency edged up to US$1.1974 from US$1.1963 late on Thursday in New York.
The dollar was being traded at ¥110.40 from ¥109.90 on Thursday.
The euro closed in on US$1.20 after being stuck in the mid US$1.19 level for most of the day.
While a lot of the activity today has been "technical," the possible effects of China's plans to stop its economy from overheating have weighed on the dollar, said Steve Pearson, strategist at HBOS.
These worries appear to have been reinforced by a weaker than expected US growth figure on Thursday, he added.
The dollar had suffered from heavy bouts of selling after growth of the US first quarter GDP came in below expectations at an annualised rate of 4.2 percent, against predictions of 5.0 percent.
The same concerns, in the wake of Chinese premier Wen Jiabao's comments that his country was committed to using "effective and very forceful measures" to cool its economy also pushed the yen lower.
China is now rumored to be planning interest rate hikes as soon as next week, and the yen was easily the day's biggest loser, falling sharply across the board.
Falls in stock markets across Asia, including a 2 percent drop in Tokyo's Nikkei average, also added to the yen's woes.
Meanwhile, US data passed by quietly later in the day despite beating predictions.
A measure of Chicago-area manufacturing topped forecasts last month while the University of Michigan's gauge of consumer sentiment index improved to 94.2 from 93.2 earlier in the month.
Elsewhere, the Swiss franc recovered from steep falls across the board after surprisingly dovish comments from the Swiss National Bank.
The British pound also came off lows after being pressured lower by a stark warning from the influential National Institute of Economic and Social Research that there is a 50 percent chance of a slump in British property prices over the next two years.
The euro was changing hands at US$1.1974 from US$1.1963 late on Thursday in New York, ¥132.14 (¥131.51), £0.6744 (£0.6743) and 1.5535 Swiss francs (Sf1.5456).
The dollar stood at ¥110.40 (¥109.90) and 1.2976 Swiss francs (Sf1.2916).
The pound was at US$1.7753 (US$1.7736), ¥195.96 (¥194.88) and 2.3034 Swiss francs (Sf2.2906).
On the London Bullion Market, the price of an ounce of gold stood at US$388.50 against US$386 late Thursday.
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