The euro traded near a five-year peak against the yen and a one-month high against the dollar on Friday after euro zone economic data dented speculation about further monetary easing by the European Central Bank.
Annual euro zone consumer price inflation rose by 0.9 percent in November, slightly more than economists had predicted, while further data revealed the first fall in euro zone unemployment in almost three years.
Analysts said this should be sufficient to ease the ECB's concerns about low inflation and may cause them to hold off from a further interest rate cut as early as next week to follow an unexpected rate cut earlier this month.
The euro rose to as high as $1.3621, according to Reuters data, the strongest since the end of October, before easing to $1.3609, little changed on the day.
Currencies
The euro gained 0.1 percent to 139.36 yen, having risen as high as 139.70, its strongest since the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers in late 2008.
On the month, the euro was on track for a gain of 0.2 percent against the dollar, its third straight month of advances. It rose 4.3 percent against the yen, on track for the best monthly performance since April.
The dollar hit a six-month high of 102.60 and was last up 0.1 percent at 102.41. It was on pace for a gain of 4 percent in November, the largest monthly rise since January.
The euro is up nearly 22 percent on the year against the yen. It has risen around 6.5 percent since the ECB unexpectedly cut interest rates on Nov. 7.
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