The dollar was relatively stable, staying near the seven-month high against the euro reached this week.

The dollar rose to $1.2550 from $1.2625 late Thursday.

The gains were triggered by an optimistic outlook for the US economy based on the unexpected surge in U.S. April non-farm payrolls released on May 6, and supported by an unexpected shrinking in the US trade deficit and rise in April retail sales. The markets so far shrugged off a weak U.S. regional factory report on Thursday and a drastic drop in the Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s index for business conditions in May that is down to 7.3 from 25.3 in April.

"The market has been quiet today but people may want to continue to be a little bit long in dollars," said Adrian Schmidt, currency strategist at RBS Financial Markets.

The markets are looking to U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow speech at 1250 GMT and Federal Reserve’s chief Alan Greenspan speaking at 1630 GMT.

The widely-held expectation is that the Fed will raise rates another time in its next meeting, adding to the advantage the greenback already enjoys over other currencies. At the moment the European Central Bank is at 2% and is unlikely to change any time soon on the weak performance in the euro area. The Bank of Japan keeps the rate at the level close to zero to stimulate the economy that has been following a bumpy road in the close past.