Investing.com - Lackluster U.S. data coupled with a looming government shutdown due to a budgetary impasse in Washington weakened the dollar against the euro on Friday.
In U.S. trading on Friday, EUR/USD was up 0.36% at 1.3538, up from a session low of 1.3475 and off from a high of 1.3564.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3462, Wednesday's low, and resistance at 1.3568, the high from Sept. 19.
Congress must approve a spending package by Oct. 1 to avoid a partial government shutdown.
While markets are expecting a last-minute deal, uncertainty steered investors away from the U.S. currency on Friday.
The Senate was due to vote on a stop-gap spending bill that was stripped of language defunding President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, though the bill will go back to the House of Representatives, which called for defunding the president's law in the first place.
Elsewhere, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell to 77.5 in September from a reading of 76.8 the previous month.
Analysts were expecting the index to rise to 78.0 this month.
Separately, official data showed that U.S. personal spending rose 0.3% in August, in line with expectations, after an upwardly revised 0.2% increase the previous month.
Data also showed that personal income in the U.S. rose 0.4% last month as expected after an upwardly revised 0.2% gain in July, also in line with expectations.
Core personal consumption expenditures, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.2% in August, more than the expected 0.1% gain after a 0.1% increase in July.
The data continued to cloud market expectations as to when the Federal Reserve will begin taper its USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program, which weakens the dollar by driving down interest rates to spur recovery.
Meanwhile in Europe, preliminary data showed that Germany's consumer price index was flat in September, in line with market expectations.
Elsewhere, the euro was down against the pound and down against the yen, with EUR/GBP trading down 0.20% at 0.8392 and EUR/JPY trading down 0.34% at 133.11.
In U.S. trading on Friday, EUR/USD was up 0.36% at 1.3538, up from a session low of 1.3475 and off from a high of 1.3564.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3462, Wednesday's low, and resistance at 1.3568, the high from Sept. 19.
Congress must approve a spending package by Oct. 1 to avoid a partial government shutdown.
While markets are expecting a last-minute deal, uncertainty steered investors away from the U.S. currency on Friday.
The Senate was due to vote on a stop-gap spending bill that was stripped of language defunding President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, though the bill will go back to the House of Representatives, which called for defunding the president's law in the first place.
Elsewhere, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell to 77.5 in September from a reading of 76.8 the previous month.
Analysts were expecting the index to rise to 78.0 this month.
Separately, official data showed that U.S. personal spending rose 0.3% in August, in line with expectations, after an upwardly revised 0.2% increase the previous month.
Data also showed that personal income in the U.S. rose 0.4% last month as expected after an upwardly revised 0.2% gain in July, also in line with expectations.
Core personal consumption expenditures, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.2% in August, more than the expected 0.1% gain after a 0.1% increase in July.
The data continued to cloud market expectations as to when the Federal Reserve will begin taper its USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program, which weakens the dollar by driving down interest rates to spur recovery.
Meanwhile in Europe, preliminary data showed that Germany's consumer price index was flat in September, in line with market expectations.
Elsewhere, the euro was down against the pound and down against the yen, with EUR/GBP trading down 0.20% at 0.8392 and EUR/JPY trading down 0.34% at 133.11.