The U.S. dollar rose against major currencies in late New York trading on Friday as Greek debt problems returned to the forefront and hurt the euro.
The disagreement among European officials over Greece debt problems solutions raised concerns about the euro.
European Central Bank (ECB) President Jean-Claude Trichet reiterated the ECB's opposition to any form of private sectors involvement in Greece bail-out plan. While Germany said it will back a second bailout for Greece but only if private investors contribute.
Investors feared the dispute would lead to a breakdown of Greece debt negotiations. The euro was under pressure on Friday as the shared currency tumbled to below 1.44 against the greenback.
As the economic concerns still haunted the markets, the stocks in New York markets plunged on Friday, raising a new round of risk- aversion appetite and pushed up the dollar, which is regarded as safe-haven currency.
In late Friday trading, the dollar bought 80.32 yen, comparing with 80.26 yen late Thursday, and the euro fell to 1.4355 dollars from 1.4509.
The British pound also fell to 1.6239 dollars from 1.6369. The dollar bought 0.8420 Swiss francs, unchanged from Thursday, but rose to 0.9767 Canadian dollars from 0.9738.
