Investing.com - The euro edged up to three-week highs against the U.S. dollar on Friday, boosted by the release of upbeat German and French economic growth data, while Thursday's disappointing economic reports still weighed on demand for the greenback.
EUR/USD hit 1.3706 during late Asian trade, the pair's highest since January 27; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3701, adding 0.16%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3629, the low of January 28 and resistance at 1.3738, the high of January 24.
Preliminary data earlier showed that German gross domestic product rose 0.4% in the fourth quarter, exceeding expectations for a 0.3% expansion, and after a 0.3% rise in the three months to September.
A preliminary report also showed that French GDP expanded by 0.3% in the last quarter, compared to expectations for a 0.2% rise, after a 0.1% contraction in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, the dollar remained under pressure after the Commerce Department on Thursday said U.S. retail sales fell 0.4% last month, confounding expectations for a 0.3% increase, while the Department of Labor said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week rose by 8,000 to 339,000 from the previous week’s total of 331,000.
The euro was also higher against the pound, with EUR/GBP edging up 0.13% to 0.8224.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release preliminary data on fourth quarter GDP. The U.S. was to produce the preliminary reading of the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index, as well as data on import prices and industrial production.