Investing.com - The euro held steady against the U.S. dollar on Friday, hovering near five-week highs as Thursday's comments by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi continued to support.
EUR/USD hit 1.3544 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3658, easing 0.06%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3580, the low of November 30 and resistance at 1.3738, the high of October 31.
Speaking after the ECB's monthly policy meeting on Thursday, Mario Draghi said that the bank's policy stance was to remain accomodative for as long as necessary and that key interest rates are likely to remain at current or lower levels for an extended period of time.
He added that the bank held 2013 growth expectations at -0.4% and raised the 2014 forecast to 1.1% expansion from 1%.
Meanwhile, investors were eyeing the release of a highly anticipated U.S. report on nonfarm payrolls and the unemployment rate later in the day after strong U.S. data on Thursday added to expectations the Federal Reserve will soon begin tapering its stimulus program.
The U.S. Commerce Department said gross domestic product increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.6% in the three months to September, above expectations for growth of 3.0% and up from a preliminary estimate of 2.8%.
Separately, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week fell by 23,000 to a seasonally adjusted 298,000, from 321,000 in the previous week whose figure was revised up from 316,000.
The euro was little changed against the pound, with EUR/GBP inching up 0.01% to 0.8367.
EUR/USD hit 1.3544 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3658, easing 0.06%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3580, the low of November 30 and resistance at 1.3738, the high of October 31.
Speaking after the ECB's monthly policy meeting on Thursday, Mario Draghi said that the bank's policy stance was to remain accomodative for as long as necessary and that key interest rates are likely to remain at current or lower levels for an extended period of time.
He added that the bank held 2013 growth expectations at -0.4% and raised the 2014 forecast to 1.1% expansion from 1%.
Meanwhile, investors were eyeing the release of a highly anticipated U.S. report on nonfarm payrolls and the unemployment rate later in the day after strong U.S. data on Thursday added to expectations the Federal Reserve will soon begin tapering its stimulus program.
The U.S. Commerce Department said gross domestic product increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.6% in the three months to September, above expectations for growth of 3.0% and up from a preliminary estimate of 2.8%.
Separately, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week fell by 23,000 to a seasonally adjusted 298,000, from 321,000 in the previous week whose figure was revised up from 316,000.
The euro was little changed against the pound, with EUR/GBP inching up 0.01% to 0.8367.