Investing.com - The euro was almost unchanged against the U.S. dollar on Friday, after the release of upbeat German factory orders data as sentiment on the greenback improved ahead of the day's highly anticipated report on U.S. employment.
EUR/USD hit 1.1248 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.1231.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.1078, the low of June 3 and resistance at 1.1327, the high of May 19.
Official data earlier showed that German factory orders increased by 1.4% in April, beating expectations for a 0.5% gain. The change in factory orders for March was revised to a 1.1% rise from a previously estimated 0.9% uptick.
Meanwhile, concerns over Greece slightly eased after the country deferred a series of debt payments it owes to the International Monetary Fund until the end of the month.
The decision came as talks between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels on Thursday ended without an agreement to unlock more financial aid before the country runs out of money.
Investors were eyeing data on U.S. nonfarm payrolls due later in the day for further indications on the strength of the job market.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending May 30 declined by 8,000 to 276,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 284,000. Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to fall by 5,000 to 279,000 last week.
The report came a day after data showed that the U.S. private sector added 201,000 jobs last month, slightly ahead of expectations for 200,000.
The euro was little changed against the pound, with EUR/GBP at 0.7316.