LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. dollar rose against the Japanese yen Friday after data on China encouraged traders to make riskier trades.
The dollar rose 0.7% to 88.90 yen.
The move came as data out of China showed a 19% improvement in industrial production during November. See full story.
"Risk conditions remained firmer on Friday with robust Chinese industrial output data maintaining a mood of greater confidence towards the global economy and this sapped yen support," said analysts at Investica in London.
The key U.S. report of the day will be retail sales, due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, which may show a 0.5% advance in November.
Meanwhile, the euro (CUR_EURUSD 1.48, +0.00, +0.24%) rose 0.2% to $1.4763.
Greece's prime minister, George Papandreou, told reporters in Brussels on Friday that European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker see "no possibility" of a Greek default, Bloomberg News reported.
Papandreou added said that there was no possibility of Greece leaving the euro area, according to the report. Pressure on Greece has been mounting in recent weeks after the country admitted that its deficit this year will rise to 12.7% of gross domestic product.
Fitch Ratings cut on Tuesday Greece's sovereign credit rating to BBB+ from A-, saying the downgrade "reflects concerns over the medium-term outlook for public finances given the weak credibility of fiscal institutions and the policy framework in Greece."
