Investing.com - The euro edged higher against the U.S. dollar in choppy trade on Friday, as investors awaited the release of U.S. economic reports later in the day after upbeat data on Thursday eased concerns over the strength of the U.S. recovery.
EUR/USD hit 1.2835 during European afternoon trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2823, adding 0.11%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2704, Thursday's low and resistance at 1.2903, the high of September 23.
Sentiment recovered mildly on Thursday after the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending October 11 decreased by 23,000 to a 14-year low of 264,000 from the previous week’s total of 287,000.
Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 3,000 to 290,000 last week.
A separate report showed that U.S. industrial production climbed 1.0% last month, beating expectations for a 0.4% rise.
In addition, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said the U.S. central bank may want to maintain its bond buying for now given a drop in inflation expectations.
However, the euro's gains were limited after revised data on Thursday showed that euro zone consumer price inflation rose by 0.3% in September, in line with expectations.
The rate has now been below 1% for 12 straight months, well under the European Central Bank's target of near but just under 2%.
The euro was steady against the pound, with EUR/GBP dipping 0.01% to 0.7962.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce reports on building permits and housing starts, as well as a preliminary report on consumer sentiment.