LONDON/TOKYO -- The euro rose above 1.43 dollars on Friday as the single currency was boosted by the latest positive economic data in the eurozone and traders awaited a key speech from U.S. Fed chief Ben Bernanke. In morning trade, the euro jumped as high as 1.4335 dollars before pulling back to 1.4319 dollars, well up from 1.4251 dollars in New York late Thursday. Against the Japanese unit, the dollar fell to 93.70 yen from 94.17 yen late Thursday. In London on Friday, the euro was changing hands at 1.4319 dollars against 1.4251 dollars late on Thursday, at 134.09 yen (134.23), 0.8671 pounds (0.8633) and 1.5145 Swiss francs (1.5149). The dollar stood at 93.70 yen (94.17) and 1.0594 Swiss francs (1.0627). The pound was at 1.6488 dollars (1.6506). On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold firmed to 941.55 dollars an ounce from 940.50 dollars an ounce late on Thursday. The yen rose against other major currencies in Asian trade Friday as a surprise jump in U.S. jobless claims disappointed investors looking for signs of a global economic recovery, dealers said. The dollar dropped to 93.66 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade from 94.17 in New York late Thursday. The euro fell to 133.25 yen against 134.23 and to 1.4224 dollars from 1.4251. Against Asian currencies, the dollar slid to 1.4438 Singapore dollars from 1.4470 a day earlier, to 32.93 Taiwan dollars from 32.98, to 48.41 Philippine pesos from 48.50 and to 10,061.25 Indonesian rupiah from 10,095. The greenback was little changed at 34.02 Thai baht against 34.03, while rising to 1,252.03 South Korean won from 1,245.70. The eurozone economy stabilized in August ending a lengthy run of business contraction, a survey showed on Friday, boosting hopes that Europe is emerging from the global economic crisis. The eurozone's purchasing managers' index (PMI), compiled by data and research group Markit, rose to a 15-month high of 50 points in August from 47 points in July, adding to other data indicating the recession is bottoming out. “Today's rises for the purchasing managers indices provide further evidence to support the belief that the eurozone will emerge from recession in the third quarter,” said economist David Henry at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, an independent consultancy based in London. The initial estimate of the August figures is right on the boom-bust line of 50 points — a score below 50 indicates business contraction among the 16 nations that share the euro currency. Later Friday, the foreign exchange market will focus on fresh U.S. data and a speech from U.S. Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke.

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