LONDON — The euro rose against the dollar on Friday, pushing gold to record highs after a surprise gain in German business confidence, while traders wondered if Japan had intervened to cool the yen. In morning trading in London, the euro rose to 1.3382 dollars from 1.3312 dollars late on Thursday in New York. Against the Japanese currency, the dollar firmed to 84.57 yen from 84.39 yen on Thursday. The price of gold shot higher to reach a record high point of 1,299.90 dollars an ounce in early London trade. "The dollar remains depressed, economic concerns persists and as 1,300 dollars (for gold) is quickly becoming an almost certain reality, many are already starting to look beyond it," said Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at financial services group VTB Capital. Business confidence in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, posted a surprise rise in September to levels last seen in June 2007 before the onset of the worst global slump since the 1930s Great Depression, a key survey showed. The Ifo economic research institute said its business confidence index edged up to 106.8 points from 106.7 points in August, its 10th best reading since 1991, ING senior economist Carsten Brzeski noted. "The German economy remains the showcase of the eurozone," he said. The widely-watched reading of sentiment had been expected to slip to 106.5 points, according to analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires. "Firms are again more satisfied with their business situation than in the previous month," Ifo president Hans-Werner Sinn said in a statement. Forecasting institutes in Austria said that the Austrian economy was also showing unexpectedly strong, export-driven growth. The dollar rose strongly against the yen in Asia trade, triggering speculation that Japanese authorities had intervened in the currency market again. The dollar had remained generally weak on lingering worries about the US economic outlook. But Japan's Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda kept up pressure on the yen's rise, saying he would take resolute measures when necessary to stop the unit from appreciating too quickly -- a situation that hurts Japan's exporters. "Extreme volatility and disorderly movement harm the stability of the economy," he said, adding Tokyo "will take determined actions when necessary". Japan stepped into the currency markets on September 15 for the first time since 2004 in a bid to stem a strong yen after it hit a 15-year high against the dollar of 82.86 yen. In London on Friday, the euro changed hands at 1.3382 dollars against 1.3312 dollars late in New York on Thursday, at 113.18 yen (112.35), 0.8528 pounds (0.8487) and 1.3147 Swiss francs (1.3117). The dollar stood at 84.57 yen (84.39) and 0.9824 Swiss francs (0.9852). The pound was at 1.5691 dollars (1.5680). On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold climbed to 1,298.45 dollars an ounce from 1,290.75 dollars an ounce late on Thursday.

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