The bump up follows a long decline for the dollar, which hit multi-year lows against several currencies earlier this week.

The dollar has fallen because of the Federal Reserve’s signals that it will keep rates low for at least the next few months in order to support the economy.

Other central banks around the world are raising rates to counter rising food and energy prices. Higher rates tend to support currencies.

On Friday, however, investors got some evidence of momentum in the U.S. economy after a recent run of weak data. The government said 244,000 jobs were added in April. Private employers added 268,000 jobs, the most since February 2006. But the jobless rate rose to 9 percent from 8.8 percent the previous month as more people looked for work.

“The firming in the labor market has to be a major topic of conversation at the Fed,” said Joel Naroff of Naroff Economics in a research note. “More and more it is looking as if the recovery is on track despite the headwinds it is facing, and the FOMC will have to deal with that trend.” The FOMC, or the Federal Open Market Committee, is the Fed panel that sets the country’s interest-rate policy.

In late trading Friday in New York, the dollar built on recent gains against the euro after the U.S. currency’s steep 10 percent decline this year. The euro tumbled to $1.4337 from $1.4530 late Thursday — a huge drop from its peak of $1.4942 on Wednesday. That was the euro’s highest level since December 2009.

Analysts said the main factor weighing on the euro Friday was a report posted on the website of a German newspaper, Der Spiegel, that said the Greek government was considering leaving the euro currency bloc.

Finance ministers from several European countries met Friday amid concerns over Greece and Portugal, as Greek and other European Union officials vehemently denied that Athens was considering leaving the eurozone.

Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou attended the informal meeting in Luxembourg.

“It is absolutely evident that in these talks there was no discussion nor was any issue raised concerning Greece’s participation in the eurozone, as various foreign media outlets said irresponsibly and for their own reasons,” the Greek Ministry said in a statement.

Steffen Seibert, spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said that “there is a meeting of some finance ministers that has long been planned. Greece exiting the eurozone is not on the agenda of that meeting, and it has never been.”

Greece was bailed out last year and its economy has struggled amid steep cuts in government spending and other reforms put in place as part of the emergency aid package from its European neighbors and the International Monetary Fund.

Despite dismissals from officials, the story “does seem to be having a market effect,” said Ron Leven, currency strategist for Morgan Stanley in New York. But he played down the significance of the report. “For (Greece) to leave the euro is very complicated. It’s not like they can just wake up tomorrow and say we’re not in the euro anymore.”

Greece’s departure from the euro would also harm the European banking sector, said Bob Sinche, the head of foreign exchange strategy at the Royal Bank of Scotland.

“The risks to the eurozone banking system and economy are so great that eurozone leaders would resist this pretty significantly,” Sinche said.

Greece could default on its debts if it withdrew from the euro, harming the European banks that own its bonds. Sinche added that Greece’s departure would increase risks for Portugal and Ireland, the euro bloc’s weakest countries.

In other trading Friday, the dollar rose to 80.58 Japanese yen from 80.19 yen, while the British pound traded at $1.6370 from $1.6379, coming off its earlier highs above $1.64. The dollar gained to 0.8787 Swiss franc from 0.8704 Swiss franc and was worth 96.92 Canadian cents from 96.90 Canadian cents.

The report today showed that Thailand’s economy expanded in 2010 with the fastest pace since 1995. The fast economic growth of the Asian countries causes the imbalances in the global economy and the Asian governments may allow their currencies to appreciate and reduce the import gains.

USD/THB fell from 30.5750 to 30.5450 as of 14:53 GMT today.

If you want to comment on the Thai baht’s recent action or have any questions regarding this currency, please, feel free to reply below.

The Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index advanced 0.4 percent. Silver and coffee posted the biggest gains. The commodities rally, as the analysts predicted, and commodity currencies, including the Aussie, follow them. Credit Suisse AG predicted that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will increase the interest rates by 48 basis points over the next 12 months.

China, the biggest trading partner of Australia, subdued the strength of the Australian dollar, though. The country increased the reserve requirements for lenders to rein the inflation and prevent asset bubble.

AUD/USD closed at 1.0144 after opening at 1.0118 and falling to 1.0088. Meanwhile, EUR/AUD advanced from 1.3447 to 1.3487. AUD/JPY closed at 84.28, almost at its opening level of 84.27.

If you want to comment on the Australian dollar’s recent action or have any questions regarding this currency, please, feel free to reply below.

In the last quarter, South Korea’s economy grew 2.3%, the fastest pace in nearly six years, marking a significant turnaround from the 5% contraction recorded in the fourth quarter of 2008. Still, “South Korea’s economy will shrink 1.8 percent this year, the IMF said yesterday, revising a July prediction for a 3 percent contraction.” Exports, which account for 50% of GDP, have also recovered, and are now rising by nearly 20% on an annualized basis. Retail sales are climbing, and bank lending to households has risen for six straight months. Finally, “Stimulus measures at home and abroad are fueling South Korea’s revival. The government has pledged more than 67 trillion won ($53 billion) in extra spending, helping consumer confidence climb to the highest in almost two years in June.”

However, an inflow of speculative hot money – which has buttressed a rally in Korean stocks – threatens to undo the recovery. “With an anticipated increase in risk appetite, foreign investors may invest further in emerging-market equities, leading to more dollar supply,” said one analyst. The first half 2009 current account surplus set a record, with forecasts for the second half not far behind. Korea’s foreign exchange reserves, meanwhile, have recovered, and could touch $300 Billion within the next year.

Of course, the Central bank is not simply standing by idly. It has already lowered its benchmark rate to a record low 2%, and at yesterday’s monthly monetary policy meeting, it firmly refused to consider raising it for at least six months. Commented one analyst, “There is no urgent need to raise rates. The most likely course of action is that the Bank of Korea will wait until the economy fully recovers, and in particular, they will wait until the unemployment rate stops increasing.” Still, given both that interest rates remain above levels in the west (see chart below) and that the Korean Won is considered undervalued, funds could continue to flow in.

The Central Bank’s other tool is direct intervention in the forex markets, in order to depress the strengthening Won. But this, it is loathe to do: ” ‘It would be better to have a larger foreign exchange reserve in order to better deal with economic crises, but attempts to buy dollars to artificially boost the reserve volume could lead to accusations of currency manipulation, while excess won in the markets could stoke inflation,’ a high-ranking ministry official said.” Still, investors are growing increasingly nervous about this possibility:”A state-run bank that usually doesn’t participate much in the market bought some dollars at the day’s low, prompting speculation about a possible intervention, a local bank trader said.” Sure enough, after hitting the psychologically important level of 1,220 at the end of July, the Won dived. It has yet to bounce back.