The euro was slightly higher against the dollar Friday after dropping over the past week because of worries about government finances in countries such as Greece and Spain.
The 16-nation euro crept up to $1.4728 in European morning trade from $1.4720 late Thursday in New York.
The British pound was up to $1.6290 from $1.6264. The dollar was higher against the Japanese currency, at 88.64 yen from 88.20 yen.
Greece's government has promised to step up efforts to reduce the deficit after a ratings agency downgraded the country's debt rating.
However, European Union officials meeting in Brussels appeared reluctant to pledge help. Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country holds the EU presidency, said Thursday that Greece's trouble was "basically a domestic problem and has to be addressed by domestic decisions."
Also this week, Standard & Poor's lowered its credit rating outlook on Spain to negative.
"The euro has come under pressure over fears of further European country downgrades and knock-on effects from both the Greece and Spain situations," said Michael Hewson, a currency analyst at CMC Markets. "There is also the fear that countries like Italy and Portugal could go the same way."
The euro needs to get back above $1.4820 and then hit $1.4890 to stabilize - "otherwise we could see a test of $1.4620 initially, and after that $1.4500," Hewson said.
