Investing.com - The euro edged higher against the U.S. dollar on Friday, as investors locked in profits on the greenback's recent rally and turned their attention to a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen in Jackson Hole later in the day.
EUR/USD hit 1.3294 during late Asian trade, the pair's highest since Wednesday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3295, adding 0.12%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3242, Thursday's low and an 11-month low and resistance at 1.3360, the high of August 19.
A string of upbeat U.S. economic reports and the Fed's latest meeting minutes sent the dollar broadly higher this week.
Market participants were eyeing Ms. Yellen's comments later Friday for further indications on the central bank's next policy moves. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi was also scheduled to speak.
On Wednesday, the minutes of the Fed’s July meeting showed that some officials believe the strengthening recovery and ongoing improvement in the labor market supports a move towards tightening monetary policy.
Meanwhile, the euro's gains were limited by data on Thursday showing that activity in the euro zone’s manufacturing sector slowed to a 13 month low in August.
Activity in Germany’s factor sector slowed but remained solid, while manufacturing activity in France contracted for a sixth successive month.
The euro was steady against the pound, with EUR/GBP inching up 0.07% to 0.8016.