Investing.com - The euro edged down against the U.S. dollar on Friday, re-approaching a two-year trough as demand for the greenback strengthened ahead of a highly anticipated U.S. employment data later in the day.
EUR/USD hit 1.2643 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2646, slipping 0.18%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2570, the low of September 30 and a two-year low and resistance at 1.2716, the high of September 29.
Investors were now looking ahead to Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, which was expected to show that the economy added more than 200,000 jobs for a sixth successive month in August.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending September 27 decreased by 8,000 to 287,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 295,000.
But the euro remained mildly supported after the European Central Bank held back on Thursday from announcing additional easing measures in spite of growing concerns over the threat of deflation in the euro area.
ECB President Mario Draghi said the bank's new covered bond operation will start in October and its asset purchase program will begin in the fourth quarter of this year. The programs are to run for two years and will substantially increase the ECB’s balance sheet, he said.
The ECB held its benchmark interest rate at a record-low 0.05%, its marginal lending rate at 0.30% and left its deposit facility rate unchanged at -0.20%.
The single currency was also lower against the pound, with EUR/GBP edging down 0.11% to 0.7838.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release data on retail sales and service sector activity.