Investing.com - The euro was steady against the U.S. dollar on Friday, hovering near nine-year lows as growing expectations for additional easing measures by the European Central Bank continued to weigh on the single currency.
EUR/USD hit 1.1787 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.1793.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.1753, Thursday's low and a nine-year low and resistance at 1.1899, the high of January 7.
The single currency remained under pressure after data on Wednesday showed that the annual rate of euro zone inflation fell by 0.2% in December, down from 0.3% in November. It was the first fall in the annual rate of inflation since October 2009.
The decline in consumer prices added to expectations that the ECB could implement quantitative easing as soon as its next meeting on January 22. Late last week ECB President Mario Draghi said the risk of it not fulfilling its mandate of price stability is higher now than six months ago.
Meanwhile, demand for the dollar remained broadly supported after data on initial jobless claims pointed to an ongoing recovery in the labor market.
The Department of Labor reported on Thursday that initial jobless claims fell by 4,000 to 294,000 last week, just slightly above expectations of 290,000.
The upbeat report boosted the outlook for the U.S. recovery and raised expectations for a strong reading of the government nonfarm payrolls due later Friday.
The euro was also steady against the pound, with EUR/GBP at 0.7812.