The euro extended gains versus the U.S. dollar to rise above $1.24 on Thursday after a strong Spanish bond sale soothed worries about the country's public finances.

The euro rose as high as $1.2412 on electronic trading platform EBS, the highest level in about three weeks. It was last at $1.2392 EUR=, up 0.7 percent on the day. (Editing by James Dalgleish)