Investing.com - The euro slid lower against the dollar on Friday after data showed that the U.S. economy added jobs for a fourth straight month in May, a day after the European Central Bank unveiled a package of measures to avert the threat of persistently low inflation in the euro area.
The Department of Labor reported that the U.S. economy added 217,000 jobs last month, just under expectations for jobs growth of 218,000, while April's figure was revised to 282,000.
The unemployment rate remained steady at a five-and-a-half year low of 6.3%.
EUR/USD initially touched a two-week high of 1.3677 following the release of the data, before pulling back to 1.3642 late Friday. For the week, the pair was 0.34% higher.
The U.S. jobs report came one day after the ECB announced fresh steps to stave off low inflation in the euro zone, briefly sending the single currency to four month lows of 1.3502 against the dollar, before later erasing the day’s losses.
The ECB cut the main refinancing rate in the euro area to a record low 0.15% and imposed negative deposit rates on commercial lenders, in a bid to stimulate lending to businesses.
The bank also implemented a new Long-Term Refinancing Operation, designed to help banks lend to small companies and said it would "intensify" its preparatory work on the 'asset-backed security' market.
The ECB acted after a report on Wednesday showed that the annual rate of inflation in the euro zone slowed to 0.5% in May, well below the bank’s target of close to but just under 2%.
Elsewhere Friday, EUR/JPY was almost unchanged at 139.87 at the close of trade, recovering from the lows of 138.66 struck in the previous session. For the week, the pair was 0.42% higher.
In the week ahead, investors will be looking ahead to Thursday’s U.S. retail sales report for further indications on the strength of the U.S. recovery, while the euro zone is not scheduled to release any major economic data.
Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of these and other significant events likely to affect the markets. The guide skips Monday and Wednesday as there are no relevant events on these days.
Tuesday, June 10
In the euro zone, France is to publish data on industrial production.
Thursday, June 12
The euro zone is to release data on industrial production, while the ECB is to publish its monthly bulletin.
The U.S. is to release the weekly report on initial jobless claims, in addition to data on retail sales and import prices.
Friday, June 13
The U.S. is to round up the week with data on producer price inflation and preliminary data on consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan.