The euro inched up in late trading here Friday, at the end of a day that had seen intervention from central banks in Europe, Canada, Japan and the United States to bolster the young currency.
At 21H00 GMT, the euro was trading at $0.8764, from $0.8794 three hours earlier and $0.8581 late Thursday.
Around 1112 GMT, the euro had bounced to $0.8992 following the joint intervention, gaining more than four percent in just a few minutes.
On Wednesday the euro hit its all-time low against the dollar, trading at $0.8443.
Intervention by the independent European Central Bank (ECB) Friday wrong-footed dealers as the currency spiked.
The stunning move, the first such action by the ECB, followed a warning by the International Monetary Fund in Prague that the weak euro-dollar rate could destabilize the financial system.
The US monetary authorities joined with the ECB and Japan in concerted intervention in foreign exchange markets following recent weakness in the euro, the US Treasury Department said in a statement.
Echoing a statement by the ECB, the US Treasury said it shared with Europe and Japan "concerns about potential implications of recent movements in the euro for the world economy."
The Bank of Canada also announced Friday it had also intervened to support the euro.
Meanwhile the dollar traded here at 107.88 yen against 106.70 yen late Thursday, and 1.7324 Swiss Francs against 1.7657 late Thursday.
The pound sterling traded at $1.4530 against $1.4367 late Thursday, and 156.81 yen against 153.27 yen.— (AFP)
© Agence France Presse 2000
