The euro gained on the dollar and yen Friday, as stocks held up despite lingering concerns about the pace of the global economic recovery.

US wholesale inventories rose the most in two years in July, a positive sign that retailers expect consumer demand to pick up.

Elsewhere, China posted an unexpected 35.2% jump in August imports this morning, signaling consumption is picking up in what is now the world's second largest economy.

Rising risk appetite, along with the prospect of more US government spending, gave the euro a modest boost.

The euro rose to 1.2740 versus the dollar, moving to the upper end of a narrow week-long range. The pair has been unable to sustain any direction over the past month.

The euro also rallied versus the yen, improving to Y107.30. Back in August, the euro hit a nine-year low of Y105.41.

And against the sterling the euro edged higher to 0.8275.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said the special credit measures extended to banks in the euro area will have to be maintained for some time yet to protect the recovery.

"As markets stabilize, our non-standard measures, which are fully consistent with our mandate and temporary in nature, will continue to be progressively phased out," he told the Financial Times newspaper in an interview.